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THE PAINTED BEECH. 



FAMILIAR TREES 
AND THEIR 

LEAVES 



DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED 
BY 

F. SCHUYLER MATHEWS 

AUTHOR OF FAMILIAR FLOWERS OF FIELD AND GARDEN, 
THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWER GARDEN, ETC. 



WIT ft OVER TWO HUNDRED DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOJ 

AND AN INTRODUCTION BY PROF. L. H. BAILEY, 

OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY 




JIM- 2 \V$ 



NEW YORK 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1896 



Copyright, 1896, 
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 



V 



w 



If? 



PKEFACE. 



(Possibly there are some of us who may not think 
that a leaf is a thing of beauty. We are prone to use 
the expression " Nothing but leaves," as though leaves 
were the worthless, homely, and uninteresting things 
of an otherwise beautiful creation. They certainly are 
common, but they are far from commonplace. If we 
doubt this, let us try to draw or paint a single leaf. 
Only a great artist can depict all of some one of its 
manifold truths ; one may draw ever so carefully and 
well, yet he can not tell with the pencil or the brush 
all the truth and beauty of one leaf. Its color is too 
waxen and pure to be imitated by earthy pigments ; 
its outline is too subtile, its teeth are too finely and 
vigorously formed, and its veins are too infinitely 
complex for one to copy with absolute, lifelike ac- 
curacy. No, it is not possible to portray all the 
beauty of a leaf with the pencil. Yet this work of 
Nature's wonderful art is common : the world is 



Qd 



iv FA MILT AH TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

filled with untold billions of leaves, no two of which 
are exactly alike. 

It is undoubtedly tlie fact that we do not fully 
appreciate either the beauty or the usefulness of 
trees ; but after we have become really familiar with 
them, and have learned readily to distinguish the dif- 
ferent species, we find ourselves in a new world of 
absorbing interest, in which beauty and use have ex- 
panded to proportions far beyond our previous con- 
ceptions. 

I have ventured to draw the trees and their leaves 
just as I have found them. My two hundred and odd 
sketches were all taken from Nature, and only sixty 
of these from pressed specimens which were obtained 
at the Harvard Botanic Garden. Yet I have found 
the world of truth and beauty, as far as leaves are 
concerned, so limitless, that types and rules seemed 
valuable only as guide-boards are on a strange path : 
a typical leaf does not reveal all the leaf truth, any 
more than a guide-board notes all the turns and twists 
in the path. 

I have considered it neither wise nor necessary to 
confine the drawings to a uniform scale ; many of 
them are about one half natural size, but the re- 
mainder are adjusted to the limited space which the 
book allows. As often as the case requires, the di- 
mensions of a leaf are recorded. 



PREFACE. v 

The botanical names which are given the first 
place are those which are taken from Gray's Field, 
Forest, and Garden Botany; these find a universal 
acceptation in this country. Those which hold the 
second place conform with a recent system of no- 
menclature instituted by Prof. C. S. Sargent, through 
whose kindness I am enabled to make my list 
complete. 

The introduction of the red spruce as a distinct 
species, and not as a variety of the black spruce, and 
also the expression of any views regarding the char- 
acter of a species, must not be mistaken for an inten- 
tion on my part of indulging in a botanical opinion. 
As a student and lover of Nature, I must beg the 
privilege of simply exercising a choice between dis- 
puted botanical points, which is, of course, consistent 
with my own profession. 

I wish to acknowledge the kind assistance received 
from Dr. B. L. Bobinson, Prof. L. H. Bailey, and 
Prof. C. S. Sargent, without whose advice I could 
never have completed my work satisfactorily. I am also 
greatly indebted to Prof. J. G. Jack, Mr. C. E. Faxon, 
Mr. Jackson Dawson, and Mr. Newlin Williams for 
their valuable suggestions and the acquisition of many 
needed specimens. Indeed, without this help it 
would have been impossible for me to gather all the 
material necessary to make my list include over two 



vi FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

hundred trees. This is not so very many for one to 
become acquainted with, and it is at least a service- 
able introduction to the life of the woods. 

The stillness of the vast forest, broken only by 
the silvery, organ -pipe notes of the hermit thrush, is 
something so strangely opposite to the city's whirl and 
confusion', that we think of the wilderness as without 
life ; but in reality it is all life : the trees and their 
countless leaves live in a world about which we know 
little — we with our lives hemmed in by walls of stone. 
But when the summer comes, then the stifling air and 
the hot pavements force the truth upon us — they are 
dead ! and, exhausted with the city's heat, we echo the 
wish of the poet Whittier : 

Bring us the airs of hills and forests, 
The sweet aroma of birch and pine ; 

Give us a waft of the north wind laden 
With sweetbrier odors and breath of kine. 

F. Schuyler Mathews. 

El Fureidis, Blair, Campton, N. H., 
May, 1896. 



INTKODUCTION. 



Tree growth is a constant source of wonder to 
one who contemplates Nature. The rigid bole, the 
bracing and far-searching roots, the outspreading top 
with its myriad members and its infinite variety of 
form and expression, all combine to make an organ- 
ism in which strength, durability, gracefulness, and 
tenderness are all at once the dominant characteristics. 
In all the range of Nature there is no object which 
so commonly inspires the tenderer and finer emotions, 
and which would leave the earth so bare of loveliness 
if it were to be removed. Itself devoid of person- 
ality, it still lends itself to the expression of all the 
feelings of the heart. It is gay or sad, warm or cold, 
peaceful or restive, the reflection of the passing mood 
of the observer. ( Every one loves the trees, though 
he may not know it, and it often happens that those 
love them best who know them leasts I mean to say 
that one who attempts to analyze the kinds and spe- 
cies may wholly overlook the tree itself in his search 



Vll 



viii FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

for details. The tree exists as an individuality wholly 
aside from its name and classification and botanical 
technicalities. There are, then, two ways of know- 
ing a tree. One is the way of human feeling and 
sympathy, through which a tree becomes a part of 
one's self, as the sunshine does. It is identified with 
every hallowed experience. The influence of its be- 
nignant branches throws a savor into the commonest 
nooks and corners of our lives. Another way to 
know the tree is the botanical or analytical way. 
This method sternly scrutinizes every detail. This is 
essential to truth, but not to feeling. It is so likely 
to restrict and dwarf the vision and the sympathies as 
to make the tree but a laboratory filled with curiously 
fashioned mechanisms. Some persons are slaves to 
facts. There are botanists, no doubt, who know all 
the kinds of trees, but who have never seen the 
greenness and verdure and sublimeness of the woods. 
Yet, despite the narrow vision which may come 
from the analytical study of plants, there is no in- 
herent reason why the person who traces the veins in 
the leaf, counts the seeds in the pod, and unravels 
the structure in the wood, may not also see the tree of 
which all these charming details are but the various 
parts. Fortunately, the greater number of persons 
will always desire to know the tree as an entirety ; 
but they may enjoy it the more if at the same time 



INTRODUCTION. i x 

they have some knowledge of its kinships and its 
names. The name is the index to all that has been 
written abont it, — a means of learning its range, its 
habits, and its uses. Such persons approach the tree 
in a different spirit than the botanist does. They 
want an easy and personal method of apprehending 
it. They have no desire to discover or record scien- 
tific facts. They are not of the analytical turn of 
mind. They simply want an introduction to the 
trees whom they meet. Their desire is as legiti- 
mate as the botanist's, and it is more necessary that 
it be satisfied. The botanist can make his own 
helps, if need be. I am glad of every new book, 
therefore, which invites people to see and to know 
Nature. That method of treatment is best which in- 
terests the greatest number of persons. If only the 
statements are clear and accurate, the critic has no 
right to condemn the book. If the book is made for 
the people, time is the only judge of its merits. As 
foliage is the most obvious feature of trees, aside 
from form, it would seem that leaf -forms afford the 
most useful basis of introduction to a common knowl- 
edge of trees ; and if, in addition, the artist draws 
and describes the objects as he sees them, the result 
must be beneficent. 

L. H. Bailey. 

Cornell University, May, 1896. 



A PLAN FOR LEAF IDENTIFICATION. 



All leaves may be divided into five general classes, as follows : 

I. Simple alternate-growing leaves. 
II. Simple opposite-growing leaves. 

III. Compound alternate-growing leaves. 

IV. Compound opposite-growing leaves. 
V. Evergreen leaves, of the Pine family. 

The first four classes which comprise the deciduous leaves are sub- 
divided into two classes, as follows : 



Without teeth. 
With teeth. 



These two classes are again subdivided, as follows 

A. Edge not divided or cut into. 

B. Edge divided or cut into. 

Class V is subdivided as follows : 



1. Without teeth. 

2. With teeth. 



1. With long needles. 

2. With short, flat, blunt needles, or with soft needles. 

3. With short, sharp needles, or with scales. 

Under this general classification tbe leaves are arranged in botanical 
succession through the following chapters: 

I. Simple alternate leaves : 

A. Edge not divided. 

B. Edge divided. 
A. Edge not divided. 

_ B. Edge divided. 

II. Simple opposite leaves : 

1. Without teeth. A. Edge not divided. 

2 With tppi-h J A - Ed £ e not divided - 

2. With teeth. j R Edge divided< 

III. Compound alternate leaves : 

1. Without teeth. j L( fJ I % e l° rder ' mg main 

2. With teeth. | Le 1 etf t s S t em rdering "^ 

IV. Compound opposite leaves : 

1. Without and ( Leaflets bordering main 
with teeth. ( leaf stem. 

2. With teeth. Leaflets radiating. 

V. Evergreen leaves, of"the Pine family : 

1. With long needles. 

flat, blunt needles, or with 



2. With short, 
soft needles. 
With short, sharp needlt 



Chap. II. 
Chap. III. 
Chaps. IV to IX. 
Chaps. X to XIII. 



Chap. XIV. 
Chap. XV. 
Chap. XVI. 



Chap. XVII. 
Chap. XVIII. 



Chap. XIX. 
Chap. XX. 



Chap. XXI. 



5, or with scales. 



Chap. XXII. 
Chap. XXIII. 



FAMILIAR 
TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



CHAPTEE I. 

THE LEAF AS A BUILDER. 

(The trees may be justly numbered among our 
best friends, for the simple reason that our lives are 
inseparably connected with and greatly benefited by 
them. But we need to know our leafy friends 
better. It is not enough to be able to distinguish 
an ash from a hickory, or a fir from a spruce ; it is 
more important by far that we should become ac- 
quainted with the form and character of the leaves, 
the frnit, and the bark and thus acquire a fuller 
knowledge of the way the tree lives. 

vTo know a tree is to become familiar with the 
purpose and condition of its life. This is revealed in 
no small measure by the leaves. The needle of the 
pine enables the tree to withstand a hurricane on a 
mountain top, yet its slender figure is perfectly 
adapted to the task of gathering light and air for the 



2 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

tree's life. The broad-leaved buttonwood would fall 
before the gale which the pine successfully weathers. 




" The rough and fuzzy leaf of the Slippery Elm.* 1 



THE LEAF AS A BUILDER. 



Not less plainly does the diversity of character in 
a leaf reveal the diversity of tree life itself. v No 
two leaves are exactly alike ; no two 
trees are exactly alike. There are spe- 
cific as well as generic differ- 
ences which are strongly 
marked. One tree leads a 
rugged, wild, and struggling 
life ; another an easy, luxurious 
life. The rough and fuzzy leaf 
of the slip- 



pery elm, the 
silky leaf of 
the beech, the 
shiny leaf of 
the gray birch, 
these are all 
widely differ- 



ent ; but there are also dis- 
tinct differences between 
the leaves of different kinds 
of birches, elms, and maples. 
Still, there are puzzling 
similarities, and one is often 
compelled to study minute 
details in order to make sure 
of a particular species. 




The silky leaf of the Beech. 



FAMILIAR TREES AXD THEIR LEAVES. 




Nys?a biflora; 
usually two berries. 



We find no more than just so many berries on a 
stem, and this fact decides a species ; the leaves grow 

just so many in a cluster, 
and this decides anoth- 
er species; the bark is 
marked thus and so, and 
there is no further doubt 
about yet another species. 
It is plain, therefore, 
that by comparative ex- 
amination we can decide 
beyond peradventure 
what the tree is by its leaf, its fruit, or its bark. 
But it is with the leaves that we have chiefly to do ; 
in almost all cases their assistance is 
sufficient for the identification of the 
tree. I have consequently arranged 
the succeeding chapters 
according to a progression from 
simple to complex 
forms. 

Fig. A is the sim- 
plest form of a leaf; 
it is without divisions 
and has an entire and unbroken edge. But this is 
not all which we must look at ; it is a most important 
fact to know how the leaf grew. Did it spring 




Nyssa uni flora ; 
not more than one berry. 



THE LEAF AS A BUILDER. 



from the twig in alternate order with its neighbors, 
or did it grow opposite a neighbor ? Fig. B shows 

how leaves grow alternate- 
ly; bnt Fig. C also shows 
how alternately - growing 
leaves sometimes double up, 
and, growing 
thus in pairs, 
appear to be 
opposite. But 




it is the main branchlet to 
which the term " opposite " 
applies, and Fig. D illustrates 
the way opposite leaves seem 
to spring out from either side 
of the branchlet. 

The next simple form of a 
leaf is one which is divided or " cut into," but is 



Fig. A.— Catalpa Leaf. 



6 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Fig. B.— YelTow Birch. 



THE LEAF AS A BUILDER, 




Fig. C. -Black Birch. 



8 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




THE LEAF AS A BUILDER. 



9 




Fig. E.— Sassafras Leaf. 



still without a toothed 
edge. The lobed leaf of 
the sassafras is a good 
illustration of this type 
(see Fig. E). 

The toothed leaf of 
the yellow birch (see Fig. 
B) comes next among the 
simpler forms ; but even 
this type is not quite as 
simple as that of the 

beech leaf (see the second drawing in this chapter), for 
the birch as well as the slippery-elm leaf is double- 
toothed, while the beech leaf is the plain- 
est, shallowest-toothed affair which Nature 
has designed. Perhaps Viburnum 
dentatum, which will be found 
in a succeeding chapter, has 
a leaf almost correspond- 
ingly simple, but the teeth 
are cut deeper, and the 
veining is not nearly so 
plain. 

The silver-maple leaf 
comes next in order (see 
Fig. F); this leaf is both 
divided and toothed, but ■ Fia . F .-snver-Ma 




10 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




THE LEAF AS A BUILDER, 



11 



it is an extreme type. A less pronounced variety of 
this sort of ]eaf is Fig. G; here there are hardly 




Fig. H.— White Ash. 



any teeth at all, and the few are large enough to be 
called " divisions," or, better yet, subdivisions. 



12 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Fig. I.— Pignut 



THE LEAF AS A BUILDER. 13 

Next in order conies a compound leaf without 
teeth, and following it one with teeth. (Figs. H and 
I illustrate these two types perfectly.) Lastly comes 
the horse -chestnut leaf, which has a radiating form 
(see Fig. J), which is the extreme type of complexity 
in a leaf. 

These types comprise all the leaves of trees out- 
side of the pine family; the needle leaves of the 
latter are too simply formed to require explanations 
beyond those given in the chapters devoted to the 
evergreens. The possession of a simple method 
whereby we may identify a tree by its leaf is a 
stepping stone to a better knowledge of the tree 
itself. It seems a strange fact that we do not fully 
comprehend the great value of the billions and 
billions of leaves that clothe the vast forests which, 
as time progresses, are slowly disappearing before 
the axe. i The cubic feet of lumber which a tree 
yields are not nearly as valuable to us as the leaves 
which the living tree puts forth season after season. 

The greatest sphere of usefulness which a tree 
occupies is connected with its life. It is a great air- 
purifier ; it absorbs from the atmosphere the carbonic- 
acid gas which is poisonous to us ; it holds and slowly 
dispenses moisture which the parched air needs ; it 
gives out the ozone (or oxygen in an active electro- 
negative condition) which is peculiarly conducive to 



14 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Fig. J.— Horse Chestnut Leaf. 



THE LEAF AS A BUILDER. 15 

our health ; and it modifies heat which would other- 
wise be overpowering. jStep into the thick woods 
from an open space on a very hot day, and imme- 
diate relief is experienced from the intense heat. 
Tins is not wholly the result of shade furnished 
by the trees ; much of it proceeds from the modifi- 
cation of the air through the breathing of the tree 
leaves. These leaves not only absorb heat and sun- 
light, but also carbonic-acid gas, and through tiny 
channels transmit them to the growing wood fiber 
of the tree. 

The fact is, a tree is built up far more by the sun 
and the atmosphere than it is by the soil from which 
it grows. In the delicate structure of the leaf, which, 
upon close examination, we will see is composed of a 
complicated net work of nervelike " veins," carbonic- 
acid gas is broken up into carbon, which is retained 
by the tree to form its woody structure, and into 
oxygen, which is liberated and passes into the atmos- 
phere. Each leaf, therefore, is a builder and an air- 
resulator of a nature which is beneficial to us. Its 
capacity for heat and sunshine is something astonish- 
ing. I have estimated that a certain sugar maple of 
large proportions, which grows near my cottage, puts 
forth in one season about four hundred and thirty - 
two thousand leaves ; these leaves combined present 
a surface to sunlight of about twenty-one thousand 



16 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

six hundred square feet, or an area equal to pretty 
nearly half an acre. Every inch of this expanse 
breathes in life for the tree, and out health for 
man, while it absorbs in the aggregate an enormous 
amount of heat and sunlight. In time of rain it also 
holds the moisture, and allows it to evaporate by 
slow degrees when hot days return. The forests are 
vast sponges, which, through the agency of leaves, 
soak up the beneficent raindrops and compel them to 
pass slowly through shaded channels to the parched 
lands beyond. It is indeed quite impossible to over- 
estimate the value of the billions and billions of 
leaves which work and build for the benefit of hu- 
manity. Only forty per cent of a tree is utilized by 
the woodsman ; the pity of it is that the waste is so 
fearfully out of proportion to the gain. I do not say 
that a waste of leaves is a very serious loss, but I do 
say that the wanton destruction of more than half 
the tree, with its thousands of leaf -workers, is inex- 
cusably careless. 

A tree is most likely felled at an immature age ;* 
how much larger it would grow if given an extra ten 
years' lease of life some of us would be astonished to 
learn. In that time a sugar maple I call to mind, at 

* Spruce and pine "sticks" (the trimmed logs) are floated 
down the Merrimack River to the lowland mills by thousands, not 
one of which measures more than nine or ten inches in diameter. 



THE LEAF AS A BUILDER, 17 

first but eight feet high, grew to measure fully thirty 
feet, and expanded over a space three times as great 
as that it originally occupied. An elm, now probably 
thirty years old, in the same length of time added 
fifteen feet to its stature, and spread ten feet in the 
radius of a circle. This tree is before me as I write. 
Another, which stood four feet high in 1870, and 
twenty feet in 1885, now reaches over thirty-five feet 
above the point it started from. A white pine, which 
ten years ago had a stem as thick as a portiere pole, 
and a height only a trifle superior to my own, I can 
now walk under without stooping ; its trunk meas- 
ures twenty-three inches in circumference, and its 
topmost bough is twenty feet above the ground. 
Four firs, which ten years ago measured twelve feet, 
now stand over twenty feet high. A silver maple, 
which I planted when it was but four inches high, in 
ten years grew nearly twenty feet. Two sugar ma- 
ples, which looked like bean poles when they were set 
out in 1875, are now symmetrically egg-shaped, and 
reach far above the ridgepole of the neighboring 
house ; in ten years' time I estimate that these trees 
expanded six feet in all directions, and their trunks 
nearly doubled their diameter. 

The imperceptible and irresistible force with 
which a tree grows I have found curiously demon- 
strated in a certain butternut, around which was built 



18 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

a rustic arbor some ten years ago. The roof was un- 
wisely fastened close about the trunk, to exclude the 
rain ; now the rafters are forced asunder fully six 
inches on either side of the tree, and an opening of 
that width shows itself in the arbor roof. What is 
most astonishing is the way three or four six-inch 
iron spikes have retained their original position, 
while the wood has been forced (regardless of the 
nail-heads) entirely beyond them. 

According to recent tests, it takes a pulling force 
of six tons to dislodge a six-inch nail. Think, then, 
of a tree growing with an irresistible pushing force 
of thirty-six thousand pounds, and this merely the 
trunk expansion ! It is remarkable, also, to see how 
a tree apparently growing out of a bowlder holds it 
with an iron grasp, as its vigorous roots (much in the 
way one's fingers encircle a ball) pass over it on their 
way down to the nourishing soil below. There are 
several trees growing this way in the charming woods 
opposite the Flume House, Franconia Mountains ; 
one may see them beside the path leading to the 
Pool. 

The life of a tree is not only interesting, but it is 
of more value to us than we can easily estimate. The 
loss of large areas of air-vivifying leaves is a menace 
to our health. Forests prevent sudden changes of 
temperature in all seasons of the year ; they decrease 



THE LEAF AS A BUILDER. 19 

the frequency of destructive frosts in early autumn, 
and they maintain an. equable climate in winter; they 
absorb and give out heat more slowly than the open 
fields, and they act as a screen to land lying to the 
leeward of blasting winter winds. When we interest 
ourselves in tree life we begin to realize how great a 
worker and builder the leaf is. It builds the tree, 
and it works for our benefit. So intimately is it con- 
nected with the tree life, that from it proceeds a tiny 
channel, or nerve, so to speak, down the trunk to the 
very root of the tree. John Ruskin, in Modern 
Painters, vol. iv, speaks thus of the leaf -worker : " It 
leads a life of endurance, effort, and various success, 
issuing in various beauty ; and it connects itself with 
the whole previous edifice by one sustaining thread, 
continuing its appointed piece of work all the way 
from top to root." 



Ct 



CHAPTEE II. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

1. Without teeth. A. Edge undivided. 

THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 

The simplest possible leaf which grows on a tree 
— I ought rather to say, which helps to build one — 
we will find on the Southern magnolia. This tree, 
which leads all others in botanical classification, puts 
forth a leaf of the plainest design we can discover in 
Nature — a leaf of an elliptical figure with pointed 
ends, plain as the plainest New England farmhouse 
without cornice, dormer, or column, and quite as re- 
freshingly simple. 

The magnolias are distinctly Southern trees, with 
dark, shining, evergreen leaves, which are more or 
less out of tune with a Northern environment. Just 
as the sober olive has its perfect setting in the bril- 
liant light and color of Italy and Syria, so the deep- 
hued magnolia finds its most congenial surroundings 
in the sunny South ; and no doubt Nature is aware 

of this fact, for she does not allow the trees to ex- 

20 



THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 



21 



pand to their normal size in the North. The mag- 
nolia in New Orleans is quite a giant compared with 
his fellow which has been exiled to bleak New Eng- 
land. Away from the Southern swamps or the pictur- 
esque streets and gardens of Mobile and New Or- 
leans, separated from its natural associates, the pecan, 
cypress, and fig tree, the magnolia can not be seen 
in the prime of its strength and beauty. 

The finest of the species is the great- 
flowered magnolia, or bull bay. . In 
the South this 
beautiful 
tree 



Great-flowered 
Magnolia, or 
Bull Bay, 



grandiflora 
ia fwtida. 




Magnolia grandifloia 



reaches a height of from 60 to 80 feet ; its trunk, 
which is not infrequently as much as four feet in 
diameter, is of a harsh brown gray color, and is cov- 
ered with scales about an inch in length. The deep- 



22 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



green leaf is from five to eight inches long, thick, 
shiny above, and somewhat rusty beneath. The ma- 
jestic and lilylike flowers measure seven or eight 
inches across ; they are cream-white, exceedingly fra- 
grant, and bloom from April to June in the South, 
but as late as early August in the North. 

The finest growth of this tree, according to Prof. 



Sargent, 



is in western Louisiana, where it forms a 



conspicuous feature of the forest.* It grows wild in 

river swamps and pine barrens as far north as the 

Carolinas, and is a most familiar and beautiful 

object in the streets and gardens of the 

Southern cities. This great-fiow- 

ered magnolia, the only perfectly 

ever-green species, is not hardy 

in the North — a pity, for it is 

certainly the most magnificent 

flowering tree of our country. 

The small 

magnolia, or 

sweet bay, is 

a slenderer tree, frequently 

reduced to the condition of 

a shrub in the North, but 

southward it attains a 




Small Magnolia- 
Sweet Bay. 

Magnolia glauca. 



Magnolia glauca. 



* Vide Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 



THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 23 

height of 50 feet or more, and has a trunk two or 
three feet in diameter if circumstances are favorable 
to a perfect development. Its bark is light brown - 
gray ; the new twigs are decidedly green, and turn 
a ruddy hue as they grow older. The leaves are 
thick, oval-shaped, obtuse, and at most not over six 
inches long; the middle rib is very prominent, the 
stem slender, and the surface below very whitish. In 
the South the old leaves remain on the tree until the 
new ones appear ; in the North they fall in Novem- 
ber. The cream-white flowers are much the same 
shape as the yellow pond lily, roundish, and bloom 
from May to August ; they are also fragrant. This 
tree, frequently seen in gardens, in its wild state is 
never found north of Gloucester, Mass., and is mere- 
ly local there ; it appears also beside the red maple 
and andromeda bush in the deep swamps of New 
Jersey; from there it extends southward near the 
coast, and forms with the loblolly and red bay almost 
impenetrable thickets in Florida, especially in the 
interior swamps and pine barrens.* 

Cucumber Tree. The cucumber tree in the South 
Magnolia grows from 50 to 90 feet high, but 

acuminata. ... , , ., ~U *-\ A . , 

attains only a moderate i size m the 
North^j In beauty it is not to be compared with the 



* Vide Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 



24 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

luxuriant, sweet-flowered magnolias. The somewhat 
tulip-shaped flowers, which come late in spring, are 
three inches wide, greenish 
yellow-white, and fragrant. 




Magnolia acuminata. 



The leaves are rather thin, dark green above, lighter 
green and slightly downy below, and they measure 
from seven to ten inches in length. They are widely 
distributed along the branch and not clustered at the 
end. The pink-red seeds of the peculiar, curved 
fruit-cone ripen in autumn ; * when green, the cone 
resembles a small cucumber ; it is about two or three 
inches long. The wood is soft, durable, and light ; 
it has been extensively used for pump logs and water 
troughs. This tree grows wild from western New 
York south westward to Arkansas, and southward 
to southern Alabama ; it is one of the largest of 

* The seeds, on being released from the pods, hang suspended 
by little white filaments, like those of the great and small mag- 
nolias. 



THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 



25 



Yellow Cucumber 
Tree. 

Magnolia cor data. 
Magnolia 

acuminata, 
var. cordata. 



the magnolias, and is a rapid grower, but its nar- 
row-petaled flowers are rather poor-looking in com- 
parison with the beautiful white ones of the two 
foregoing species. 

The yellow cucumber tree has really 
beautiful lemon-yellow flowers, which 
form a very dainty color combina- 
tion with its rich foliage. This tree 
is a native of Georgia and South 
Carolina ; it has been cul- 
tivated in gardens for 
nearly a century, 
and its beauty is 
deserving of close 
attention. It is 
found to be quite 
hardy as far north as 
Boston, where it sur- 
vives the cold of that 
trying climate.* The 
leaves are similar to 
those of the foregoing 
species, but they are 

Magnolia cordata. 

broadly oval, decidedly 

woolly-white beneath, and less pointed at the ends. 




* There are two specimens of this tree in the botanic garden 
of Harvard University. 



26 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Gray says they are seldom cordate * (heart-shaped at 
the base). The yellow flowers are often slightly 
streaked with red. The tree 
grows from 20 to 50 feet high. 




Great-leaved 
Magnolia. 

Magnolia 

macropliylla. 



The great-leaved 



is 



magnolia 
Southern tree, 
wdth huge, deep- 
green leaves (sometimes not less 
than thirty inches long) clus- 
tered at the summit of the branches ; 
they are also woolly-white beneath, 
and are narrowed down to two small 
scallops at the base. \T he bell-shaped 
flowers are truly Brobdingnagian, for 
they measure fully eight and even 
twelve inches across. They are mildly 
fragrant, and are cream-white, of a very 
soft tone, with a dull pinkish spot at the 
base of the petal. The tree grows from 30 to 50 
feet high, and is found in its wild state from Ken- 
tucky and North Carolina southward. It is culti- 
vated as far north as Boston, where, in Jamaica 
Plain, one of the suburbs, there are two beautiful 



Magnolia 
macrophylla 



* The species name Magnolia cordata was given it by the 
younger Michaux; but Prof. Sargent considers this magnolia a 



variety of M. acuminata. 




MAGNOLIA MACROPHYLLA. 
From a photograph by Mr. A. R. Wilmarth, Jamaica Plain, Mass. 



THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 



27 



specimens about 20 feet high, some of whose flow- 
ers measure nine inches in diameter. 

Umbrella Tree. The umbrella tree gets its name from 
Magnolia Umbrella, the resemblance which the leafy ends 

Maqnolia tripetala. * . T -. "' -. -, i_ n 

oi the branches bear to an umbrella, 
the leaves being arranged in a circle, with veins and 
stems radiating from a common center ; the umbrella- 
like appearance is readily per- 
ceived by one who stands 
below. It was first fcx 




Magnolia tripetala. 



called parasol or umbrella tree by the early settlers 
in the South. The leaves are from eighteen to 
twenty inches long, deep green above and lighter 
green beneath ; they are downy (on the under side) 
when young, but soon grow smooth. The cream- 
white flowers, six to eight inches across, with rather 



28 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



narrow petals, have a strong and somewhat dis- 
agreeable odor ; they bloom in May and June. The 
height of the "umbrella tree is from 30 to 40 feet ; 
its branches are usually contorted, and after sprawl- 
ing out quite a distance from the trunk they turn up 
and grow nearly parallel with it. The bark is light 
gray, smooth, but sometimes blistered. 

The tree is found in parks and gardens ; it grows 
wild from New York southward, along the Alleghany 
Mountains, and attains its greatest 
size in the valleys extending 
from the western slopes 
of the Great Smoky 
Mountains in Tennes- 
see ; southward its limit 
is central Alabama, and 
westward, southwest- 
ern Arkansas. 

Ear-leaved The ear- 

TJmbrella Tree. 

leaved 

Magnolia 

FmseH. umbrel- 
la tree grows from 
30 to 40 feet high. 
The flowers, six to 
nine inches in diam- 
eter, are cream- 
white, slightly sweet- 




THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 



29 



scented, and bloom from May to June. The leaf, 
scarcely a foot long, is similar to that of the umbrel- 
la tree, but is conspicuously heart-shaped at the base. 

This tree is 
found from south- 
western Virginia 
southward ; west- 
ward it extends to 
the valley of the 
Pearl River, Mis- 
sissippi ; and it is 
seen in cultivation as far 
north as New York city. 
-Custard v Tne papaw, or cus- 
P le - tard apple, has a 

leaf similar in 
shape to that of Magnolia Umbrel- 
la, and is another Southern tree 
which does not attain its normal proportions in the 
North. In rich soil and a warm climate the tree 
will grow to a height of 35 feet or more. It is 
sometimes cultivated, but grows wild from New 
York southward, and westward to southern Mich- 
igan and Texas. The best growth is found in the 
valleys of streams which are tributary to the lower 
Ohio River. Nearly all parts of the unfortunate 
tree smell badly, including the flowers, which are 




Asimina triloba. 



Papaw 



30 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



prettily triple -formed and have a soft, purplish-red 
hue. The leaves are eight to twelve inches long, 
thin, rusty-downy beneath when young, but event- 
ually smooth. The straight trunk, perhaps ten inches 
in diameter, has smooth, shiny, silver-gray bark ; the 
branches, marked lengthwise with little grooves, are 
slender and spreading, with bark of a light reddish- 
brown color. The fruit of this tree is rather shape- 
less and bulky, three to five inches long, yellow and 
soft inside, dark brown and wrinkled outside, and has 
a fragrant, sweet taste greatly prized by the Southern 
negro. It is ripe in September or early October. 
In the unripe condition the greenish skin is smooth, 
with a bloom, and the pulp is disagreeable to the 
taste. It is said that the fruit has the most deli- 
cate flavor after having been frozen. In the South, 
where the trees are common, the fruit is brought into 

market ; but, at best, those 
who like it must confess 
to an acquired taste. 

Red Bud— Judas Tlie red 
Tree. bud is a 

Cercis Canadensis. 



very small 
tree, 40 or 50, but com- 
monly not over 25 feet 
high, famous for the 
beauty of its dainty clusters of small pale crim- 




THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 31 

son-red flowers (the petals are pink), which ap- 
pear from March till May before the leaves are ont. 
These leaves are four inches long, dark green, smooth 
and glossy, and perfectly heart-shaped ; they turn 
yellow in the fall. The French Canadians use the 
acid flowers in their salads and pickles. The name 
" Judas tree " is handed down to us by tradition ; 
in olden times it was believed that this tree was the 
one on which Judas hanged himself. The red bud is 
common from New York southward and westward 
to Alabama and Missouri, and is most abundant in 
Indian Territory and eastern Texas; it is also fre- 
quently seen in cultivation. There is a very pretty 
but small specimen opposite the Public Library on 
Millmont Street, Roxbury, Mass. 

The tupelo or sour 
Tupelo— Sour Gum. 

ffum reaches 

Nyssa sylvatica. ° 

its finest 
proportions in the 
South, but it is 
more or less com- 
mon from central 
New York south- 
ward, and westward to Michigan. In the extreme 
Northeast it may occasionally be found as far as 
Yermont and southern Maine ; but I have never 
seen the tree in New Hampshire. It is medium 




Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). 



32 



FAMILIAK TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



in size (rarely it grows 45 feet high), and has hori- 
zontal branches, a rough grayish trunk, and ellipti- 
cal pointed leaves about two to five inches long, 
dark shiny green above but lighter below. The 
leaves turn a brilliant dark red in the autumn. (The 
wood is exceedingly close-grained, tough, and hard 

to split ; for this reason 
it is employed in the 
making of hubs, pul- 
Jf/ leys, and mauls. 'in 
Virginia it is much used 
by the ship-builders. 

The leaf of the 
Water Tupelo. 
, 7 , .„ water tupelo is 

Nyssa sylvatica, very nearly like 

var. bijiora. 

that of the 

foregoing species, but it is smaller ; we must rely, 

therefore, on other means for the identification of the 

tree. It grows from the pine barrens of New Jersey 

southward. The blue fruit is smaller, and the stone 

is decidedly flattened and strongly ridged ; this is not 

the case in the other tupelo, which bears a larger fruit 

with a rounder stone (ovoid) scarcely ridged at all. 

Large Tupelo. The large tupelo bears a leaf from 

jVi/ssa unifiora. four to ten inches long, which is 

yssa aqua.ica. g metimes angularly toothed, and 

often quite downy beneath ; it is also apt to be a 




Water Tupelo. 






THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 



33 



^7 ; 4 




Large Tupelo. 



trifle heart-shaped at the base. This tree bears soli- 
tary flowers, and fruit about an inch long with a flat- 
tened and ridged stone. It is 
found in water or deep swamps, 
from Virginia and Illinois 
southward. These three tu- 
pelos may easily be dis- 
tinguished apart, 
by reason of their 
different fruit and 
flowers ; for in- 
stance, one can 
not find JVyssa biflora with more than three flowers 
on one stem, and in the greatest number of cases it 
has only two. The single flower or fruit also unmis- 
takably indicates W. aquatica. 

_ . The persimmon, sometimes called 

Persimmon. V- r 

Diospyros date phim, is distinctively a Southern 

Virgimana. ij-qq^ although it may be found as far 
north as Long Island or southern Connecticut ; * but 
only in the South will the tree be seen fully devel- 
oped ; here it grows, when unobstructed, 40 or 50 
feet high, with widely spreading branches ; in the 
forests it attains a height of 100 feet or more. The 
dark -green leaf is from two to five inches long, rather 

* The specimen which I have sketched grows in Bucks County, 
Pa., and is over 40 feet in height. 



u 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 






thick, smooth and shining above, lighter colored and 
a trine downy below ; the ribs are greatly cnrved and 
irregular. The bark of the trunk is dark 
reddish brown, deeply divided into * 

rather square-looking sections. 

^The short-stemmed, plumlike 
fruit, which is about an inch or 
a little more in diameter, rip- 
ens in mid-snmmer south- 
ward, bnt not nntil ~No 
vember northward. 
It is pale orange 
of a rnddy tone 
when fnlly 



ripe, 



and 




has a pleas- 
ant, sweet 
flavor after 

frOSt * Which Persimmon. 

seems neces- 
sary to render it edible. One rash bite of a per- 
simmon before it has reached its fullest development 



* This, however, is a matter of opinion. There are those who 
insist that the fruit is best ripened before frost, for, although the 
latter removes the disagreeable astringency, it also destroys the 
flavor, particularly if the fruit has not reached a certain stage of 
maturity. In a half-dried condition a persimmon has the shriv- 
eled appearance of a raisin, and it tastes not unlike a date. 








{SI 






<^ C 



, 



£<ftl 



^I^BiiMl ?v 



PERSIMMON TREE, BUCKS CO., PA. 
From a photograph by Mr. N Williams. 



THE MAGNOLIAS, ETC. 



sets every tooth " on edge " ; this remarkable as- 
tringency proceeds from the tannin it contains. The 
wood of the persimmon is close-grained, hard, and 
blackish in color ; it is peculiarly adapted to carv- 
ing. The JcaH, or Japanese persimmon (Diospyros 
kaki\ one of the principal fruit trees of Japan, 
is now planted in the Southern States, where it seems 
perfectly at home. It has a picturesque, con- 
torted figure, large, leathery, shining 
and luscious fruit, which sometimes 
measures two inches in diameter. 
Carolina Red Bay. Tne Carolina red 

Persea Carolinensis, bay, which gTOWS, 
Persea Borbonia. •, . 

according to cir- 
cumstances, 15 or even 70 feet 
high, is another Southern tree. 
It is found in the low grounds 
or swamps of Delaware and 
the South. Its leaves, two to 
live inches long, are downy 
when young, but soon grow 
smooth ; they are evergreen. 
The flowers, which appear in 
summer, are inconspicuous, and 
of a greenish-white color. The 
berry, half an inch long, is dark blue with a red 
stem ; it ripens in autumn. 




Carolina Red Bay. 



CHAPTER III. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

1. Without teeth. B. Edge divided. 

THE TULIP TREE AND SASSAFRAS. 

Tulip Tree— L tu ^P tree ^ s a ^ so known as white- 
Whitewood. wood, but this name is commonly ap- 
Liriodendron plied to the lumber. The wood, 

however, is far from white • it is 
rather dull greenish yellow, sparingly streaked here 
and there with dark or blackish brown. This tree is 
often a remarkable sight in May or June, with its 
countless greenish-yellow "tulips," touched inside 
with orange, which measure four or more inches 
across. The whole effect of color is worth study. 
It is as aesthetic and lovely as it is curious amid the 
plainer green of other trees. 

The tulip tree attains a gigantic size in the South 
and West ; it measures not infrequently 140 feet 
in height and eight feet in diameter; sometimes 
specimens are found which are 160 to 190 feet in 

height. The trunk often carries an almost uniform 

36 



i 



THE TULIP TREE AND SASSAFRAS. 37 




Tulip tree. 



38 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



diameter for forty feet upward, and when near the 
summit divides itself into strong, regularly disposed 
branches, which, with the far-reaching ones below, 
give the tree massive proportions and a truly mag- 
nificent appearance. As compared with the sugar 
maple, the foliage is not nearly so rich and dense, 
but superiority of size entitles it to the honor of 
being called a tree -giant. 

The leaf is so peculiarly cut off at the end that 
one recognizes it at once ; it is unique in shape, very 
smooth, thin, and it generally turns a russet color in 
the fall.* The seed pod expands (notice my sketch) 
into a charmingly decorative figure, which greatly 
adds to the beauty of the tree in autumn. 

Whitewood is extensively used for interior finish, 
especially for paneling and moldings ; it is so free 
from knots, and the grain is so straight, that carpen- 
ters prefer it to the best of white pine. It is also 
used in carriage building, as no other wood is quite so 
well adapted to the curved paneling which this work 
requires. The best growth of the tulip tree is found 
in the lower Wabash River Valley and on the west- 
ern slopes of the Alleghany Mountains, but much of 
the lumber used in the Northeastern States is brought 
from Michigan and Wisconsin. The tree does not 



* Sometimes it turns bright buff-yellow. 



THE TULIP TREE AND SASSAFRAS. 39 

grow thickly anywhere, and it is seldom that one 
finds more than a few good-sized specimens on an 
acre of forest land. 

There is, or used to be, a large tulip tree growing 
on the slope of Mount Mitchell, in North Carolina, 
not far from the spot where Prof. Mitchell lost his 
life. The trunk of this tree in 1866 measured thirty- 
three feet in circumference at three feet from the 
ground. There is a notable group of six beautiful 
trees, each one of which is over 50 feet high, near 
the Eastern Railroad station at East Saugus, Mass. 
On the eastern side of the town of Englewood, N. J., 
there is a small but most symmetrical specimen, which 
at the period of bloom is a domelike mass of soft, 
yellow-green flowers and leaves. I have never seen a 
tulip tree which equaled this one in form and color. 

Sassafras Sassafras may be identified at once 

Sassafras officinale, by its strongly aromatic taste; not 
Sassafras sassafras. on}j the ^ ^ md twigg? ^ 

also the leaves, have a pungent flavor, reminding one 
of a certain kind of old -fashioned sugar candy. A 
decoction of the root and bark also contributes largely 
to the making of root beer. The tree, according to 
Gray, attains an altitude of 125 feet, and Prof. Ap- 
gar records its height as 100 feet.* This is a sur- 

*Vide Trees of the Northern United States, Austin C. Apgar; 



40 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



prise to many of us, who possibly have never seen a 
specimen which exceeded 40 feet. I have frequent- 




sassafras. 

ly found sassafras in the vicinity of Lake Mahopac, 
Butnam County, N. Y., 10 or 15 feet high, and oc- 
casionally in New Jersey, perhaps 25 feet high ; in 
the South, however, it commonly grows to a height 

but in Silva of North America Prof. Sargent places the maximum 
height at 90 feet. 






THE TULIP TREE AND SASSAFRAS. 



41 



of from 50 to 60 feet. Sassafras is found throughout 
the North and West, from eastern Massachusetts to 
Iowa, Kansas, and Indian Territory ; southward it ex- 
tends as far as central Florida, and from there to 
Texas. 

The leaves have three distinct forms, each of 
which I have sketched ; the texture is smooth, and 
rather thick. Although all parts of the tree are aro- 
matic,* it will be found that 
the bark of ths roots is bit- 
ingly strong, and from 
this the oil of sassafras 
is distilled ; it is most- 
ly made in Pennsylva- 
nia and "Virginia. The 
bark of a young tree is 



a warm, bullish 



gray 




Sassafras Leaf. 



streaked with green ; 
the twigs are shiny yel- 
lowish green. The fruit, 

which is ripe in September, is small, oval, one-seeded, 
bluish, and has a reddish, rather fleshy, club-shaped 
stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish yel- 
low, -and appear in early spring with the developing 
leaves. I have never found the sassafras in the 



* The leaves furnish the flavoring used in gumbo soup. 



42 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

White Mountains nor in any part of the country 
immediately south of them. There are two beauti- 
ful little trees, perhaps 12 feet high, in the Arnold 
Arboretum, of quite symmetrical proportions. On 
the 21st of October, 1895, I noticed that these trees 
had scarcely shed a dozen leaves apiece ; but three 
days later (a heavy frost had intervened) not one 
leaf was left on either tree.* In Milton, Mass., there 
is a tree measuring over 40 feet in height, and in 
Manchester, Mass., near the center of the town, is an- 
other quite as high. 

* The foliage of the sassafras, more than that of any other 
tree except the horse-chestnut, is conventional to a fault. One is 
impressed with the similarity between the leafage in an old print 
of Bewick's and that of the sassafras ; both are regular and deco- 
rative. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. A. Edge not divided. 

THE LINDENS, ETC. 

American Linden, T HE American linden, which some- 
or Basswood. times grows under favorable circum- 

Tilia Americana. , -< or\ j.' .l i • i i , i 

stances 130 ieet high, is best known 
by the name of basswood. In the northern part of 
New Hampshire it never seems to attain any con- 
siderable size. Most of the basswood which may 
be found in the White Mountains is half hidden 
among the shrubbery ; but if one comes across a 
handsome, large, heart -shaped leaf with strongly 
marked veins and sharply pointed, irregular teeth, 
and with tiny tufts of rusty hairs on the back ex- 
actly at the junction of the veins, he may be pretty 
sure it belongs to this tree. If the irregularity 
of the toothed edge is examined, it will be seen 
that there is often a regular alternation of fine and 
coarse points ; it would seem as though Nature had 
first edged the leaf with bold, sharp notches, and 

43 



44 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

afterward, not content with her handiwork, had in- 
terspersed the notches with a series of smaller and 
more delicate ones. The leaf is also characteristic- 
ally veined; on either side over the two-scalloped 




Basswood, American Linden. 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 



45 



(heart-shaped) base is a long vein, from which extend 
four or five branching ones with a backward curve. 
This peculiar veining will be more easily seen in my 
drawing of the European linden's leaf. ' 

So far as the appearance of the leaves is con- 
cerned, there is very little difference between the 
American species and its foreign relative ; but be- 
tween the trees the difference is at once apparent. 




European Linden. 

The European linden (Tilia Europma) is smaller, not 
often over 35 or 40 feet high ; * its twigs are nu- 



* The tree in Europe shows a very different record ; for in- 
stance, the linden of Ncustadt, on the Kocher in Wurtemberg, 
was large enough in 1550 to require stone columns to support its 



46 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

merous and slender, and its top usually tapers to quite 
a point. The American linden has a rounder figure, 
its small branches are heavier, its leaf is larger (four 
to six inches long), and it frequently attains a height 
of from 60 to 70 feet, with no branches below a 
point some sixteen feet above the ground. But 
these are superficial points of distinction ; the botani- 
cal difference is found in the flowers. In the Eu- 
ropean variety there are no petal-like scales attached 
to the stamens. Our basswood is distinguished by a 
cream-colored, sweet-scented flower which has these 
scales. 

Basswood is frequently used in cabinet work, and 
is a great favorite for the manufacture of wooden 
ware, as it is easily worked, and its grain is firm, white, 
and clear of knots. 

The linden is common throughout the North, and 
it extends among the mountains as far south as Ala- 
bama. It is also found in Indian Territory and 
eastern Texas. It flowers in late spring, and in Oc- 
tober its tiny fruit, like elongated brown peas, hangs 
suspended from a fine stem, half of which appears to 
be merged in a leaflike brown wing called a bract. 



enormous branches. In 1664 this tree had a trunk over thirty- 
seven feet in circumference, and was computed to be from eight 
hundred to one thousand years old. — Scientific Papers, ii, 39, 
Asa Gray. 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 



47 




American Linden Seed 



Closely related to the tree just described is a small- 
leaved bass wood {Tilia pubescens) not over forty feet 

high. In this species 
the leaves are usually 
two or three inches 
long; they are thin, 
rather hairy be- 
neath, and the 
fruit " bract " 
is rounded at 
the base, not pointed or tapering as in Tilia Amer- 
icana; the fruit is also rounder than that of other 
species. This tree is common from New York south 
and southwest. 

There is another native species of basswood, com- 
mon in the mountains of Pennsylvania and in the 
South and Southwest as far as Tennessee, called white 
basswood {Tilia heterophylla). Its leaves are very 
large, sometimes seven inches long, smooth, oblique, 
deep, shiny green 



above, and silvery 
white and velvety 
beneath, with pur- 
plish veins. This 
tree grows to a 
height of from 50 to 60 feet. Although my draw- 
ings do not show any especial lopsidedness to the 




pubescens. 



4:8 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



linden leaf, it will be found that in many cases this 
irregularity is very pronounced ; in the last-mentioned 
species it is particularly so. 
American Eolly. We have our own American holly, 
ilex opaca. which is indeed a fine tree well wor- 
thy of cultivation, although, through the frequent ab- 
sence of the scarlet berries, it has not the brilliancy 

of its English relative. 
It is not quite hardy a 
little north of 42° lati- 
tude. This holly grows 
from 15 to 50 feet 
high, has light brown- 
gray, smooth bark, 
and white flowers 
which appear in 
May. 

The evergreen 
leaf is rather thick 
and flat, has a wavy 

margin with scat- 
American Holly. tered gpiny teeth? 

and lacks the luster of that of the English holly. 
The tree will be found in moist woodlands near the 
coast from Quincy, Mass., to ~New Jersey, and south- 
ward to Florida; from southern Indiana it extends 
southward to the Gulf. The wood is very white, 




THE LINDENS, ETC. 



49 




close-grained, and hard. The leaves are commonly 
used for decoration at Christmas time. 
Dahoon Holly. Tne Dahoon holly is a small tree 
Bex Dahoon. (frequently it appears in shrub form, 
not over 10 feet high) which grows 
in the pine barrens or swamps of Virginia, 
and from there southward ; rarely it at- 
tains a height of 30 feet. The ever- 
green leaf is two or three inches long, 
with a curling margin toothed only 
at the end ; sometimes it has no 
teeth at all, and what there are 
can not be called spiny. The 
berries are a varied red — less 
scarlet, perhaps, than those of 7. 
opaea. The small branches and the veins on the 
under side of the leaf are somewhat downy. An- 
other species of holly which often reaches the pro- 
portions of a tree, particularly on the 
slopes of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, is called Ilex mon- 
ticola : but this has lisrht 
green deciduous leaves, and 
their shape is not hollylike ; 

they are large, thin, smooth, and sharply toothed. 
The large red berry is borne on a short stem. Hex 
montieola is common in the damp woods of the Ta- 



Dahoon Holly. 




Ilex Montieola. 



50 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



conic and Catskill Mountains, 



and in Cattaraugus 



Rliamnus 

Carolinians 



County, N. Y. ; it also extends southward along the 

Alleghany Mountains to northern Alabama. 

The Carolina buckthorn, or Indian 
Carolina 

Buckthorn. cherry, is a thornless shrub or small 

tree which grows from 12 to 35 
feet high. The somewhat elliptical 
leaves are from three to five inches long, 
wavy, indistinctly toothed, strongly 
veined, and nearly smooth, if one ex- 
cepts the woolly stem. The glob- 
ular, berrylike fruit, at first 
crimson, is finally black when ripe 
in September. ! ^The Indian cherry 
is found in wet grounds from Long 
Island, IN". Y., and lYew Jersey to 
Kentucky, eastern Nebraska, and eastern 
Texas ; southward it extends to Florida. 
In the Southern States it attains the 
height and proportions of a tree. The 
common buckthorn (Bhamnus cathartica) 
is a native of Europe ; but Cray says it has 
run wild in a few places here, and in this 
condition is apt to form a small tree. The leaves 
are minutely toothed, and sometimes they grow oppo- 
site-, the branchlets terminate in thorns, which fact 
distinguishes it at once from its American relative. 




Carolina 
Buckthorn. 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 



51 



Wild or Canada The wild plum, sometimes called 
Canada plum, is a rather thorny tree 
in its wild state, from 12 to 30 feet 



Plum. 

Prnnus Americana. 
Pruuas nigra. 




high. There are 
improved varieties 
which are also com- 
mon, and from one 
of these thornless 
ones my 
sketch of 

is taken. The 
white flow- 
ers appear in 
spring, direct- 
ly before or with the 
leaves, and the fruit 
ripe in August or ear- 
ly September, is oval, 
about one inch in di- 
ameter ; its color is 
dull orange, or even 
orange - red,* almost 
free from bloom : it 



Canada Plum, 



* The fruit from which my drawing was taken (from a tree in 
cultivation), when fully ripe, has a peculiarly luminous, {esthetic, 
translucent red color, which I greatly admire. 



52 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Chickasaw Plum. 

Prunus Chicasa. 
Prumis 

angustifolia. 



has a pleasant taste, although the skin is very tough 
and acid. The leaves are large, double-toothed, 
coarsely veined, and smooth without a gloss. The 
tree is common in woodlands and on river banks 
from west New England to Minnesota.* 

The Chickasaw plum 
has a long, lance- 
shaped, but broad 
leaf, with very fine 
teeth, a shining green surface, and a 
red stem. The fruit is one half to two 
thirds of an inch in diameter, globular, 
thin-skinned, of a lustrous reddish color, 
with a slight bloom, and is pleasantly fla- 
vored ; it usually ripens in early summer. 
The tree is small, its average height be- 
ing between 15 and 20 feet; rarely it 
attains 25 feet. It grows wild in Dela- 
ware, and extends westward and southward to Kan- 
sas, Texas, and Florida. It is widely cultivated. 

Wild Red Cherry, The leaf ° f the wild red cheri T> g en " 
or Bird Cherry, erally called bird cherry, is similar in 

Prunus shape to that of the Chickasaw plum, 

Pennsylvanica. ....... . . 

but its distinct peculiarity is a certain 
graceful, wavy outline, and a shining light green, 

* The range of the Canada plum has been greatly extended 
through cultivation. 




Chickasaw 
Plum. 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 



53 



smooth surface ; the margin is also finely and sharply 
toothed ; sometimes it hangs from the 




branchlets much in the fashion of a peach leaf. The 
flowers appear in early May. The tiny cherry, not 



54 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



larger than a pea, is translucent red, and sour, but the 
birds seem to relish it. 

This tree is common in rocky woods, where it 
often reaches the height of from 20 to 40 feet ; 
but generally it will be found beside the high- 
way often not much taller than the shrubbery among 
which it grows. Its twigs are red, and the bark of 
the trunk is dark chestnut-red, very smooth, rather 
shiny, and is covered more or less with rust-colored 
marks. Its tiny, white, long-stemmed flowers appear 
in May, scattered loosely over the branches, and con- 
tribute quite a graceful appearance to the otherwise 
slim and scrawny tree. The wild red cherry is com- 
mon everywhere in the 
North, and extends 
southward along 
the mountains to 
North Carolina, and 
westward to Iowa. 




Wild Black Cherry. One of 



Prunus serotina. 



our most 



picturesque trees, which in 
perfect figure is more likely 

rruit of Black Cherry. ^^ ^ ^ confineg of gome 

field or on the bank of a river, is the wild black 
cherry. Here it is not hampered by the crowding 
growth of the forest, and it spreads itself over the 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 55 

wide expanse of blue sky in bold and charmingly 
rugged outlines. 

The tree is not symmetrical, and its foliage is not 
luxurious — on the contrary, it is rather thin ; but in 
spite of this, the wild black cherry with its unconven- 
tional branches and its shining green leaves is a beau- 
tiful tree such as an artist likes to draw. Where 
other trees spread plumelike against the sky, a solid 
mass of green, the black cherry's topmost branches 
are penciled in dainty silhouette. This is one of the 
means by which I can identify the tree at a great dis- 
tance. It is always in contrast with its surroundings. 

We are so often attracted by contrast in natural 
landscape, that I am constrained to call attention to it 
as an indispensable accessory of beauty ; in a word, 
without the thin foliage and unobstructed boughs of 
some of our less luxuriant trees, a landscape, espe- 
cially if wooded, is heavy and monotonous. But we 
might look far before we would find the wild black 
cherry listed as a beautiful tree in the nurserymen's 
catalogues. Why ? \Well, I may explain at once 
that there are those whose sense of the beautiful is 
narrowed down to the confines of a single fact ; for 
instance, a regularly proportioned tree with an or- 
derly habit is considered beautiful ; that is as far as 
some people allow imagination to go. That rugged- 
ness, picturesqueness, contrastiveness, and boldness are 



56 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



also elements of beauty, never occurs to the many 

who see the beauty of an American elm (who could 

not ?), but who can not see the 

beauty of a wild 

black cherry. 

But the tree is 
not only attractive 
in figure ; both its 
leaf and fruit de- 
serve a share of our 
attention. Notice 
in my sketch the 
vigorous way the 
leaves seem to have 
grown on the branch 
of the younger tree ; 
there is a bluntness to 
their figure notwith- 
standing the sharp tip, 
and there is a certain 
firmness of purpose in 
the way each one spreads 
itself out from the side 
of the branchlet to catch 
the sun and rain ; the 
very teeth are finely and 
firmly cut, and they are set close, as if to make a 




Black Cherry (young). 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 



57 



bold stand against the elements. These leaves are 
in sharp contrast with those of the older cherry, 
and their whole aspect is indicative of youthful vigor. 
It is a curious fact, however, that the broad, blunt 
leaf (which is an exception to the general rule) 
of this younger black cherry is almost identi- 
cal in shape with that of the choke cherry, 
Prunus Virginiana / this species is 
properly considered a shrub, although 
in a mild climate it sometimes attains 
the proportions of a good-sized tree. 
But this particular tree I describe 
which, with several others like it ; 
grows in the valley of the Pemige- 
wasset River, K. H., is unquestion- 
ably Primus serotina, as a taste of 
the bitter almond - flavored bark 
proves its identity beyond a doubt* 
The long type of leaf, such as I have drawn just 
above, is most common in the wild black cherry. 
The flowers, unlike those of the red cherry, grow 
in clusters around a long, upright or jjendulotis 
stem, and appear in May or June. The fruit is 




Typical leaf of the 
Black Cherry. 



* T do not hesitate to introduce to the reader any leaf which 
I may come across, whether it be typical or not. One of the 
most interesting phases of the study of Nature is her essential 
unconventionality. 



58 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

larger than a good-sized pea, and frequently has (if 
I may be allowed the expression) a " broad-shoul- 
dered " look ; the skin is purple-black, and the pulp 
within is sweet, with a bitter, aromatic taste, ac- 
counted for by the presence of hydrocyanic acid* in 
the tree. One may notice the same taste in bitter 
almonds and peach stones. The bark is also bitter 
and aromatic, and is largely used as a tonic. " Cherry 
brandy" is made from the fruit. The tree grows 
from 50 to 100 feet high; its bark is a reddish 
brown, f marked with horizontal lines and rough ex- 
crescences. On old trees the bark is blackish brown, 
and on very young ones it is purplish or even green- 
ish brown. The fruit is ripe in September (in New 
Hampshire), and the birds congregate on the boughs 
in great numbers to enjoy the boundless feast. 

The wood of this cherry tree is very valuable in 
cabinet work ; it is of a brownish pink tint, which is 
easily stained to the depth of color common in new 
mahogany (not Santo Domingo mahogany), and it is 
frequently used to imitate that wood. The wild 
black cherry is distributed from Maine southward to 
Florida, and westward to Minnesota, eastern Ne- 
braska, and eastern Texas. 

' * More commonly called prussic acid, 
f But southward, in Florida or the Gulf States, the color is 
light gray, vide Silva of North America. — C. S. Sargent. 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 59 

American Crab [ The American crab apple is a tree 
Apple. which I think is not fully appre- 

Pyrmcoronaria. ciated _! mean? ag a beautiful tree it 

is not planted enough in our parks and private 
grounds, and as a fruit tree it is too often displaced 
by some large-fruited apple. In one respect it ought 
not to be considered with the common apple at all. 
Its fruit makes a delicious preserve or jelly not to be 
mentioned in the same breath with plebeian " apple- 
sauce," as it possesses a pronounced and delicate flavor 
of its own. 

The beautiful yellow-and-red fruit* in a good 
season burdens the crab apple beyond the strength of 
its supple boughs, and these must be braced up with 
stanch poles if the owner would not see his tree 
rent in sunder and its branches lying a mass of ruin 
on the lawn. I call to mind a beautiful tree with 
long, graceful branches extending clear to the ground, 
which in May is a magnificent, gigantic bouquet of 
large, fragrant pink blossoms, whose delicious per- 
fume sometimes ladens' the air fully three hundred 
feet away. What a sight for a Japanese artist, and 
what a treat for a Parisian perfumer ! But they 



* In the wild state the crab-apple fruit is greenish yellow. 
Some trees I know of in cultivation bear fruit more or less cov- 
ered with a bloom, so the yellow-and-red color beneath is not 
brilliant until the plum-colored surface is rubbed off. 



60 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



would not be alone in the appreciation of this crab 
apple. One morning I approached and stood beside 
it, drawn by an nnacconntable musical hum which I 
had heard no less than seventy feet away. Wonder 
of wonders! I saw ten thousand golden bees busily 
engaged gathering honey from the countless blossoms, 
and yet another ten thousand bewilderingly circling 
over those at work, till the music of 
their hum was like 
the sub- 
dued di- 
apason 
notes of 




Crab Apple. 

a grand organ. The bees at least do not overesti- 
mate the value of this tree. The crab apple's leaves 
are larger than those of most apple trees, and are 
not infrequently heart-shaped at the base. My 
drawing was taken from a tree in cultivation, but 



THE LINDENS, ETC. 



61 



the leaves in no wise differ from a type common to 
the wild tree, although the latter often shows a leaf 
with three notches on either side.* I The fruit is 
about an inch and a quarter in diameter ; the pulp is 
yellow, hard, and fit only for preserving. The tree 
grows from 15 to 30 feet high, and in its wild state 
extends from western New York westward to south- 
ern Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas, 
and along the mountains southward 
to Alabama. 

The beautiful shad- 
bush, which most 
often is found in 
shrub form, frequent- 
ly attains the proportions of a hand- 
some tree 30 feet high. It is some- 
times called Juneberry or service berry. The white 
flowers, with petals twice as long at least as they 
are wide, appear in advance of the leaves, and hang 
in loose, graceful clusters. The fruit looks some- 
thing like a large huckleberry, with the same star- 
like indentation at the top, and a similar black-pur- 
ple color. 

The beauty of the berry lies in its diverse color- 
ing. Sometimes we may find on one tree dull pink, 



Shadbush, or 
Juneberry, 

Amelavclikr 
Canadensis 




* For a somewhat similar leaf, see my drawing of the scarlet- 
fruited thorn. 



02 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



crimson, magenta, and plum-purple as well as black- 
purple berries, which are in various stages of ripe- 
ness ; but I may add that their appearance is as a 
promise unfulfilled, for, 
ripe or unripe, they are 
equally satisfactory — or 
rather unsatisfactory; they 
are quite 
tasteless. 
The leaf 




Sbadbush or Juneberry 



is interesting if not exceedingly beautiful; it fre- 
quently varies from the pointed oval figure, which 



THE L7XDENS, ETC. 63 

was characteristic of the specimen which I have 
drawn, to an oblongish or square -shouldered shape. 
Its texture is hard and smooth, reminding one of 
leather ; the teeth are extremely regular, sharp, fine, 
and the veins are delicate and regularly arranged ; 
there are few leaves, in fact, that can compare with 
the perfection of form and structure which is ap- 
parent at a glance in the shadbush leaf. Did I say 
perfection ? That was hardly the right word ; no 
leaf is really perfect. To demonstrate this fact to 
our own satisfaction, we may begin what will prove 
a fruitless search for a specimen whose outline we 
may trace with a pencil, and then, reversing the leaf, 
find the drawing still in conformity with it. [No, 
Nature does not" trouble herself about that kind of 
perfection which may be measured with a foot rule^ 

The fruit of the 'shadbush is ripe in June and 
July ; its flower is in bloom about the time the shad 
" run." The bark of the tree is smooth, and laven- 
der-brown ; less ruddy than that of black birch. I 
call to mind a certain tree at least 20 feet high 
growing wild on a river intervale among the White 
Mountains, which would be an ornament of striking 
beauty at its time of bloom in park or garden ; but it 
remains a wild tree, which, like Thomas Gray's wild 
flower, was " born to blush unseen." 

It would be well worth our while to search for 



G± FAMILIAR TREES AXD THEIR LEAVES. 

the shadbush in springtime and learn to love its 
beauty for its own sake ; it is common in all the 
seaboard States, and extends westward to Minne- 
sota and eastern Nebraska, and southwestward to 
Louisiana. 



CHAPTER V. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. A. Edge not divided. 

THE WITCH-HAZEL. SORREL TREE. ELMS. 
ETC. 

Witch-Hazel. The weird-looking witch-hazel, whose 
Hamamdi* twigs are decorated in autumn with 

Virginiana. . 

tmy tangled yellow blossoms, is a 
shrub rather than a tree, reaching a height, how- 
ever, of fully 30 feet if it happens to grow under 
advantageous circumstances. In the woods of the 
White Mountains it rarely grows more than 12 
feet high, but in the township of Campton I know of 
three handsome trees over 16 feet in height, each 
of which possesses only two or three stems ; their 
appearance, in fact, is quite treelike. 

The leaf of the witch-hazel, on an average two 
and a half inches long and nearly as broad, is rather 
roughly modeled ; one side is larger than the other, 

then* irregular teeth are coarse and wavy pointed, the 

65 



6$ FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Witch-Hazel. 



THE WITCH-HAZEL, SORREL TREE, ETC. 67 

veins are straight and depressed, so that the leaf ap- 
pears somewhat corrugated, and the surface is more or 
less covered (when young) with down. ( The flowers 
appear just as the leaves are turning from a dark green 
to a golden yellow spotted with brown and olive. If 
a single blossom is disentangled from the tousled but 
pretty little cluster of yellow flowers on the brown 
twigs, the figure with a little straightening out will 
look like my sketch at A. On these twigs also appear 
the twin seed-pods left from last year's flowers ; these 
have a fashion of suddenly bursting when the seeds 
(polished little flattened brown pellets) are ripe, and 
ejecting their contents many yards away.* Thirty 
feet is no exaggerated estimate of the distance, al- 
though in my own experience I do not remember 
having seen a seed fly more than twelve feet. But 
Mr. William Hamilton Gibson has put the matter to 
a thorough test, so I quote what he says : " My experi- 
ments with the pods upon a long piazza and else- 
where proved that the momentum of the seed would 
commonly carry it to a distance of twenty feet, often 
over thirty feet, and in one or two instances the 
diminutive double-barreled howitzers succeeded in 



* " The seed is discharged by a contraction of the edges of 
the valves of bony endocarp" (inner lining of the seed-pod), 
" which in opening suddenly frees it by pressure and causes it to 
fly upward."— Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 



68 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



propelling their missiles to the distance of forty-five 
feet by actual measurement." 

The witch hazel is distributed from New England 
southward to Florida and Louisiana, and westward to 
eastern Minnesota.* 

Sorrel Tree. The sorrel tree is found from Penn- 
Oxydendrum sylvania to Indiana and central Ten- 

nessee, and southward to Florida, 
mostly along the Alleghany Mountains, and 
to Louisiana. It grows from 20 to 60 
feet high, and may 




Sorrel Tree, seed vessels, and flower at A. 

easily be identified by its sour-tasting leaf, which in 



* From the witch hazel an extract is manufactured possessing 
peculiar healing powers ; it is generally known as " Pond's Ex- 
tract." The discovery of the medicinal quality of the witch hazel 



THE WITCH HAZEL, SORREL TREE, ETC. 69 

outline resembles that of a peach tree. Its white 
flowers appear in June or July ; they are small, urn- 
shaped,* and are borne in loose, long, one-sided clus- 
ters. The leaves (five to seven inches long) are finely 
toothed, shining, smooth, and have very slender stems ; 
they turn to a variety of brilliant reds in the fall. The 
sorrel tree is not a very distant relative of the kalmia 
and rhododendron^ they all belong to the Heath family. 
Slippery, or Red Elm. The leaf of the slippery elm is 
Limus/uiva. about as coarse and rough as it 
could possibly be. This character does not show 
itself as distinctly in my drawing as I could wish, 
but the roughness is felt rather than seen; indeed, 
I think I could identify a branch of the tree quite 
easily with my eyes shut. Even the branchlets 
are rough, and in spring the soft and downy buds 
under a magnifying glass appear covered with in- 
numerable rust-colored hairs. The upper side of the 
leaf under the glass also appears hairy, and the under 
side is a mass of soft down ; the teeth are very coarse, 
and double, and the ribs beneath are prominent, stiff, 
and hairy at the angles. The leaf is much larger 
than that of the common elm ; it measures from five 
to seven inches in length. 

is attributed to an Oneida Indian. — Vide Shrubs of Northeastern 
America, Charles S. Newhall. 

* They somewhat resemble the wintergreen blossom. 



70 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Slippery Elm. 



The tree grows from 30 to 60 feet high, and 
has an inner mucilaginous bark (whence it gets 



the name " slippery elm "), wliich is possessed of 
demulcent and medicinal qualities. One may easily 
identify the tree by the gummy, aromatic taste of 
the bark on the branchlets. The wood is reddish, 
tough, and very durable ; it is used by the farmers 
for fence posts, as it lasts a long time half buried 
in the ground. It is common from New England 
to the Dakotas and eastern Nebraska, and south- 
ward to Florida and Texas, but in the country im- 
mediately south of the White Mountains I notice 
that it rarely develops beyond the proportions of 
a small tree, with a trunk of about eight inches diam- 
eter. 

The Scotch elm( Ulmus montana\ sometimes called 
"Wych elm, has similar but smaller and less rough 
leaves than the slippery elm ; the buds are not downy, 
and the branches droop at their extremities. This 
tree is extensively cultivated, and will be found in 
many of our parks. 

American, or The American elm is justly famous 

White Elm. as one f the most beautiful of all 

Ulmus Americana. . t, n xi ji nn. 

trees. It frequently grows from 60 
to 80, and occasionally 120 feet high. vPne of our 
cities (New Haven), by reason of its beautiful elms, 
has been called the "Elm City," and many New 
England towns and villages — Greenfield, Deerfield, 
Andover, Concord, and a host of others — boast of 



72 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

their elm-embowered streets, which are indeed beau- 
tiful^ and typical of a "New England town. 

The most characteristic mark of beauty in the elm 
is the fringed appearance of its drooping branchlets, 
which hang suspended from the heavy boughs and 
trunk like so much lacework. The poet Whittier 
noticed this beauty, and alluded to it in his verses 
addressed to the Merrimac River : 

Laugh in thy plunges from fall to fall ; 

Play with thy fringes of elms, and darken 

Under the shade of the mountain wall. 

The arching character of the boughs which leave 
the trunk with an almost imperceptible curve out- 
ward, distinguishes this elm from all others, and gives 
it that singularly graceful figure which is best seen in 
isolation on the meadow, or in succession beside the 
road. 

The leaf of the elm is smooth except when young, 
and distinguished by its veiny, lopsided character, 
entirely different in every respect from a beech leaf ; * 
the edge is most frequently, but not invariably, dou- 
ble-toothed. 

The meadow land of the Connecticut Eiver Yal- 

* I make a comparison of these two opposite types of leaves 
to draw particular attention to the difference in the character of 
foliage between the beech and the elm ; no two trees could pos- 
sibly be more differently graceful. 



THE WITCH HAZEL, SORREL TREE, ETC. 73 

ley is famous for its grand elms ; so is that adjoining 
Plymouth, N. H., and in this beautiful mountain 
hamlet is a magnificent specimen, 
near the Pemigewasset House, 




American White Elm. 

whose trunk four persons can scarcely encircle with 
outstretched arms and clasped hands. There are 
several "Washington" elms in various parts of the 
land, the most notable one of which is that at Cam- 
bridge, Mass.* The one which formerly stood on 

* Under this tree, which to-day has a rather dilapidated ap- 
pearance, Washington took command of the American army, July 
3, 1775. 



v CLA. 



74 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Boston Common was cut down several years ago on 
account of its decayed condition. The wood of the 
elm is white, exceedingly tough and durable, and 
is used to make wheel-hubs, yokes, and saddle-trees ; 
it is even beautiful when used in cabinet work, and 
has a rich, light yellow-brown color far superior 
to that of the birch. The tree is common 
in all parts of the country. The English 
elm ( TJlmus camjpestris) has a leaf which 
is smaller and darker than 
that of our own elm, and it 
is not infrequently rough ; 
its shape is also more ab- 
ruptly sharp-pointed. The 
limbs of the English elm 
grow out from the trunk at a 
angle, and they are apt to give the 
an irregular outline with a larger 
upper and a smaller lower mass of 
foliage. There are numbers of fine 
English elms on the Common 
in Boston ; but few of them 

Corky White Elm. - Corky White Elm. The corky white 
TTlmus racemosa. e ] m (g() to IQQ 

feet high) resembles the white elm, with this very 
pronounced difference : its branches are marked 




THE WITCH HAZEL, SORREL TREE, ETC. 75 




with large, corky ridges, and the twigs are some- 
what downy. The leaves also have simpler and 
straighter veins. The tree is 
generally found on river 
banks, and is distributed 
through northwestern New 
Hampshire, southern Ver- 
mont, and northern New 
York to southeastern 
Missouri, and the 
southwest as far 
as central Ten- #^55^ 

nessee. Anoth- 
er elm closely 
resembling the last 

is a small tree (40 to 50 feet high) called Wahoo, 
or winged elm ( Ulmus alata). This variety is dis- 
tinguished by corky ridges on either side of the 
branchlets, which are smooth, not downy. The leaf 
is very small (perhaps not over two inches long), 
downy beneath, thickjsh, and almost stemless. This 
species extends from southern Virginia southward 
to western Florida, and southwestward to Indian 
Territory and Texas. 

Planer Tree or The water elm, or Planer tree, named 
Water Elm. f or j # j\ Planer, a German botanist, 

Plunera aquatica. mmt ^ be CQnfused with ^ greater 



Wahoo or Winged Elm. 



76 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



plane tree, frequently called button wood. This small 
tree, confined to wet banks beside ponds and rivers, 

is found in the valley of the 
Cape Fear Eiver, N. C, 
in Kentucky, and in the 
South; westward it extends 
to southern Missouri. It rare- 
ly grows over 30 or 40 feet 
high, and has a small, dark- 
green leaf resembling that of 
the white elm, smooth above, and 
of a pale grayish-green color be- 
neath; the teeth are sometimes 
double. The fruit is a rough, leath- 
ery-skinned nut about a quarter of an 
inch in diameter, altogether different 
from the elm's fruit, which is always 
winged ; it is ripe in September. The bark of the 
tree is apt to scale off like that of the buttonwood. 
Hackberry, or The hackberry, or sugarberry, usually 

Sugarberry. j s a small tree with the genera] ap- 

Celtis occidentalis. j> -i -j, i r •, 

pearance of an elm. It bears iruit 
about as large as bird -cherries, sweet to the taste, first 
yellowish and finally purplish red in color.* Its 




Planer Tree. 



* In midwinter the berries are dark mahogany- red. A hand- 
some but small hackberry growing on a street in Cambridge, 



THE WITCH HAZEL, SORREL TREE, ETC. 77 



deep-green leaves are variable in figure and texture • 
some of them are sparingly toothed, others are ex- 
tremely oblique or lopsided, and a few 
are heart-shaped (scalloped) at the 
base ; they are all conspicuously 
taper - pointed, and the teeth, 
extending over two thirds of 
the edge from the tip down, 
are sharp. The leaves are rare- 
ly over three inches long, and 
are generally rough to the 
touch. 

This tree is widely dis- 
tributed ; it is common from 
New England southward, and 
westward to Minnesota and even 
to Washington, on river banks and in the woods; 
it rarely reaches a height of over 20 feet, but in 
the South, and especially in the lower Ohio basin, 
it attains the proportions of a large tree, sometimes 




Ilackbeny. 



130 feet high. 



Bed Mulberry. The red mulberry grows variously 

Moras rubra. f rQm 15 to -Q f eet J^g^, an( -| bearg 

dark red, or, when finally ripe, black-purple ber- 



Mass., not far from the Harvard Botanical Gardens, is crowded 
with thousands of berries as late as the end of January. 



78 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Red Mulberry 



ries, resembling in 
shape and size long 
wild blackberries. 
The leaves, as one 
may see from my 
drawings, are ex- 
tremely variable in 
figure ; perhaps it 
may occasion some 
surprise when I say 
that these leaves which 
I have drawn all came 
off the same tree. (This 
particular tree grows in 
the Pemigewasset Yal- 
ley (White Mountains), 
just in front of an 
ideal farmhouse, and 
is not over 15 feet 
high; but it is extraor- 
dinarily beautiful both 
in roundness of figure 
and in brilliancy of fo- 
liage. 

A Nothing is more 
charming in color than 
the leaves of a young 



TIIE WITCH HAZEL, SORREL TREE, ETC. 79 

mulberry tree in early summer ; they are usually of 
a soft, warm, yellow -green hue, in agreeable con- 
trast with the surrounding darker-leaved trees, and 
they seem to hold the afterglow in some mysteri- 
ous manner peculiar to themselves. This 
rare and glowing yellow-green color is 
identical with that which we have ad- 
mired perhaps in the garments of the 
Madonna in a picture called 
The Virgin Enthroned, by 
the American artist, Abbott 
H. Thayer. The red mul- 
berry is common east of 
the Mississippi River, and 
Cut-leaf of Red Mulberry. m that locality reaches a 
height of 70 feet or more. It 
extends throughout the country. 

There is also a white mulberry {Morns alba) with 
leaves similar to those of the red mulberry, except that 
they are smooth and shiny. This tree was intro- 
duced from China about 1830, and cultivated for the 
sake of its leaves, upon which silkworms delight to 
feed. The oval fruit is whitish, and at times pur- 
plish ; it is edible, but has a rather sickening sweet 
taste. The tree is common throughout the North ; 
southward it extends to Florida and Texas, fl recol- 
lect a tall and handsome specimen at Palenville, 1ST. Y., 




80 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



near tlie Catskill Mountains. The wood of the mul- 
berry is yellowish, and durable in contact with the 
ground. The trees all have milky juice. 

The black mulberry {Morns nigra), another native 
of Asia, has large, dull, dark-green leaves tapering 
into a sharp point, rather rough above, usually not 
lobed (divided), fine-toothed, and evenly balanced on 
either side of the stem. The fruit is large and sweet, 
purple-black in color, and double the size of the red 
mulberry; it is much esteemed in Europe. The 
tree, however, is rarely cultivated in this country, 

and it is barely hardy above 
42° north latitude. It 
grows to a height of 
from 20 to 30 feet. 

The pa- 
Paper 

Mulberry. P er mul ~ 
Broussonetia berry is 

cultivated 




papyrifera. 



Paper Mulberry. 



from New York 
southward as a shade tree ; its leaves are very hairy 
above, downy beneath, round-toothed, and in young 
trees divided, but in old trees somewhat heart-shaped 
and rarely divided. The club-shaped fruit, ripe in 
August, is dark red, sweet, and insipid. The tree 
grows 25 feet or so high, with branches which hang 
low. It comes from Japan. 



CHAPTEE YI. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. A. Edge not divided. 

THE BIRCHES. 

Black, Sweet, or The black > sweet > or cherry birch lias 
Cherry Birch, slender, dark reddish - brown twigs 
Betuia lenta. ^^ a delightful aromatic taste, which 
is a sufficient means for the unmistakable identifica- 
tion of the tree ; the bark of no other birch possesses 
exactly this aromatic flavor, although there is a cer- 
tain sweetness to the yellow birch's twigs. It is from 
the twigs of the black birch that the flavoring for 
bircli beer is obtained. 

This tree has an evenly balanced, oval-pointed leaf, 
with a regular double-toothed edge, which is an easy 
means of distinguishing it from its neighbors. Com- 
pare for an instant my leaf drawings of the black 
birch and the American elm : it will be seen at once 
that the leaves are somewhat similar in general out- 
line, in double-toothed edge, and in prominent, almost 

81 



82 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




THE BIRCHES. 83 

conventional veining. But here the resemblance ends : 
the birch leaf is shiny, the elm leaf is not — on the 
contrary, it is rough ; it also has a much more lop- 
sided figure. Furthermore, my drawing of the birch 
shows that the leaves grow in pairs alternately along 
the stem ; the elm leaves grow singly ; then, the little 
elongated dots on the tiny twigs of the birch, and the 
downy, short leaf stem, both of which bespeak the 
Betula tribe, are characteristics wholly unelmlike. 
There is also another distinguishing mark of the black- 
birch leaf : its base is unmistakably scalloped * Now, 
compare this shape with that of the hop-hornbean 
leaf, and it will be seen that the scallop in the latter 
is extremely slight. These are minor differences, 
which, however, should not escape our notice. 

I find the black birch in a shrublike condition in 
Campton, ~N. H., much more frequently than in tree 
form; but when it does reach the proportions of a 
tree it grows from 20 to TO feet high, and carries a 
fairly straight trunk covered with a gray-brown bark 
somewhat resembling the cultivated cherry, but with 
those unmistakable horizontal marks which charac- 
terize the birches. 

With the sunshine distributed over its brilliant 

* The botanical expression for this scalloped base is " cordate " 
or "heart-shaped"; but I refrain from using a term which might 
mislead one to believe the entire leaf was shaped like a heart. 



84 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

green leaves this tree makes a fine show in an open 
space where there is no interference with its vigorous 
growth. Its wood is reddish brown, fine grained, and 
is well adapted to cabinet work. As a matter of fact, 
it is often stained to imitate mahogany, and so treated 
one is completely deceived as to the true nature of 
the wood. Its bark does not separate into thin layers, 
like that of the paper birch. 

Yellow Birch. The yellow birch gets its name from 
Betuia lutea. its yellowish trunk ; there is really 
little yellow in it, but enough, perhaps, to justify the 
name ; more exactly, I should describe the color as 
silvery yellow -gray. Again, those horizontal marks 
which characterize the Betuia family are sprinkled 
over the delicate, silvery bark ; notice, also, the way 
this thin bark is curled and frizzled away from the 
trunk ; it ornaments the latter with a thousand shin- 
ing, edges, which catch and hold the scattered, flicker- 
ing sunlight of the woods so that the tree is dis- 
tinctly separated from its stalwart, dull-hued, rough- 
seamed neighbors. Indeed, the yellow birch possesses 
a certain unmistakable femininity of character which 
is suggestive of some tattered and disheveled woodland 
nymph. A young sapling about three quarters of an 
inch in diameter, whose silvery-yellow bark is in per- 
fect condition, makes a beautiful cane when tastefully 
mounted. There are few trees which, like the yellow 



THE BIRCHES. 



85 




Yellow Birch. 



86 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

birch, may boast of bark with, a texture like satin 
and a sheen like silver. 

This yellow birch is so closely allied to the black 
birch that I mnst point out the differences which we 
may observe in their leaves. The yellow-birch leaf 
is rather coarser in texture and toothed edge; it is 
not so conventional in figure as that of the black 
birch; it is often quite contracted at the scalloped 
base, which is not so decidedly formed ; its leaf stem 
is exceedingly downy, also the back of the leaf, espe- 
cially over the veins ; and, lastly, it does not possess 
the shiny, bright-green color which characterizes the 
black birch. Besides these leaf differences there are 
others : the catkin is less long and more egg-shaped, 
and its scales are larger and thinner; but the fact 
that the yellow birch has unmistakably yellow bark 
prevents the possibility of confusion with any other 
of the species. The tree attains a height of 80 or 90 
feet if it is placed in advantageous circumstances ; I 
know of a specimen over 75 feet high near Livermore 
Falls, Plymouth, N. H. The wood is white, and not 
very useful except as fuel. 
White or (The common white birch, sometimes 

Gray Birch. called gray birch, is an American tree 

r l J oi which we may well be proud. (1 

think it possesses a feminine grace and charm which 

are as yet unappreciated by those who seek after 



THE BIRCHES. 87 

ornamental trees with which to decorate parks and 
private grounds. Its long, thin branches as they ex- 
tend outward from the white trunk droop in many a 
subtile curve ; the ends are divided into an infinite 
number of dark-brown, wiry branchlets from which 
depend the beautifully formed leaves. These are 
somewhat triangular in shape, taper to a sharp point, 
and are bright, shiny green ; in fact, no other tree 
possesses so brilliant a leaf. In spring the tree is 
bright yellow-green, and furnishes a striking contrast 
with any evergreen which may happen to be in its 
vicinity. 

The extreme lightness and airiness which charac- 
terize this birch are the qualifications which assist one 
most in its identification. If, for instance, I see in 
the distance a small tree with white trunk, thin, light 
yellow-green foliage, and dark, wiry branches dis- 
posed to droop (the topmost ones are decidedly 
vertical), I know pretty well by experience that 
no other native tree except the gray birch answers 
to that description ; in a park it might possibly be 
confused with its foreign relations, but in the for- 
est it is unique. Unfortunately, the beauty of the 
gray birch never shows itself to advantage in its na- 
tive environment ; in the struggle for existence among 
its crowded neighbors, much of its femininity and 
daintiness is completely lost ; its symmetry is im- 



88 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




White or Gray Birch. 



THE BIRCHES. 89 

paired, its outlines are scrawny, and its strength is 
lost in tlie effort to elbow its way above encroaching 
companions of a more vigorous growth. < But place 
the tree where it has a chance to do its best, and it 
will develop into astonishingly graceful proportions. 

This birch, is distinguished from its near relatives, 
by several marked characteristics. Notice the bough 
where it joins the white trunk ; this triangular brown 
patch below the branch is always present in any tree 
of any age. The leaf stem is slender, rather long, 
and not downy; the leaf (often growing, as in my 
sketch, in pairs) is very smooth and shiny on both 
sides ; also, the stem being slender the leaf shakes 
with the slightest breeze, and its varnished surface, 
reflecting the sunlight, breaks it into shifting, spark- 
ling green fire. This is no exaggeration of the truth. 
Watch some tree on the edge of a dark wood on a 
clear day in early June, when Zephyr is at play 
among its branches, and the flashes of green light 
which come and go will fairly dazzle the eyes. 

The white bark is not easily separable into layers, 
and it lacks that freedom from knotty imperfections 
which makes the canoe or paper birch so dazzlingly 
white in broad sunlight. Often in very young trees 
the bark runs through dark brown to tan color, and 
only the thickest part of the trunk is sparingly white ; 
but through all the branches and over the trunk are 



90 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

the same lines and dots which always mark the Betula 
tribe. The tree is small, rarely reaching a height of 
more than 30 feet. ( Its wood is white, soft, and is nsed 
mostly for fuel; rarely it is made into spools such 
as are common in the weaving mills of New England. 
European F° r the sake of comparison, I in- 

White Birch, troduce here a sketch of the Euro- 

Betula alba. ^^ ^-^ ^^ ( ^ f oreign rek . 

tive of our Betula jpojpulifolia, which is indeed 
closely allied to our tree, is certainly very beautiful, 
and is becoming quite common in cultivation. The 
specimen which I have sketched was taken from a 
tree which was planted in front of a private residence 
in Plymouth, 1ST. JL* It is a cut-leaved variety of 
the European birch, specifically named Betula alba, 
var. laciniata. But when I admit its beauty (pos- 
sibly some landscape gardener may lift his eyebrows 
at the word admit), I must remind those who have 
studiously observed our own gray birch that its Euro- 
pean relative does not possess the power of flashing 
that jewel-like green light to which I have drawn 
attention. In a word, the foreign tree possesses a 
beautifully shaped leaf, without the splendid lively 
color of its American relative. These ornamentally 

* This beautiful tree, some 30 feet in height, stands near the 
gateway entering the grounds of Dr. Robert Burns. On these 
grounds are also several rare trees of various foreign species. 



THE BIRCHES. 



91 




European White Birch, cut-leaved. 



slashed leaves (John Euskin would call them rent) 
are rather a dark green, and they are not very 



92 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

shiny — in fact, they are not constituted as sunlight 
flashers. 

This makes a vast difference with the appearance 
of a tree, supposing, of course, we take into consid- 
eration its effect under conditions of light and shade. 
I could identify our gray birch at a great distance 
in the focus of strong sunlight gathered from a 
cloud-rent; such a thing would hardly be possible 
with any other tree. The European birch under 
similar conditions would appear at best commonplace, 
if, indeed, it was recognizable at all. Then, also, in 
early October, when our own birch is transformed 
into pale, shining gold, there is hardly a suggestion 
of gold in its European relative. I have seen both 
trees together under the same climatic conditions, and 
the change of color in the foreign tree was not com- 
parable with that of its American relative. My draw- 
ing is sufficient for the identification of this particular 
European birch. 

The different kinds of European birch (Betula 
alba) are ; var. pubescens, leaf covered with white 
hairs ; var. pendula, weeping ; var. laciniata, cut- 
leaved ; var. fastigiata, pyramidal ; and var. atro- 
purpurea, purple-leaved. These are all to be met 
with in parks and private grounds, but as yet I 
think none of them have escaped from cultiva- 
tion. 



THE BIRCHES. 

Paper, Canoe, or \The splendid 
White Birch, white-trunked 

Betula papyri/era. papej . Qr c&n()e 

birch, which universally goes 
by the less specific name of 
white birch, is so well known 
through its useful and beau- 
tiful paperlike bark that the 
identification of the tree is de- 
pendent on no 
other means. But 
lest it should be 
confused with its 
near relative, the 
gray or white birch 
(B. populifolia), I 
draw attention to 
certain differences. 
Unlike the gray 
birch, the extreme- 
ly white bark is 
scarcely marked with 
a distinct triangular 
brown patch, from the 
top of which grows the 
branch ; indeed, there is 
hardly any brown at all 



93 




Paper or Canoe Birch. 



94 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

below the branch ; in the gray birch it is never ab- 
sent. The bark on a large tree will hold broad 
spaces nnfnrrowed by knotty imperfections. The 
paperlike layers of the bark are easily separated into 
numerous thin sheets, varying from a bufiish cream 
color to a light tan, the lightest color belonging to 
the outermost layers. The leaf is altogether unlike 
that of the gray birch ; its stem is short and often 
very downy (notice in my drawing that the stems are 
short, thick, and not sharp or clean looking) ; its out- 
line is oval, with a moderate point, and the teeth are 
coarsely irregular ; in color it is dull green, smooth 
above and hairy below, especially on the ribs and at 
their angles ; at the base it is oftenest rounded, but 
now and then it is remotely heart-shaped. 

The branches have no tendency to droop, as do 
those of the gray birch, and the whole color effect of 
the tree is darker. It is also a tall variety of the 
Birch family, sometimes reaching a height of T5 feet. 
The beauty of the white-trunked tree in the North- 
ern forests can scarcely be overestimated ; it is one of 
those woodland characters which does not seem to 
lose anything by the overcrowding process. I have 
seen great, handsome specimens in the dense woods 
of the White Mountains, undespoiled of their virgin 
white bark by the hands of tourists, growing straight 
up in the air and sending out widespreading branches 



THE BIRCHES. 



95 



as if there were no 
forest in the way 
and room was not 
scarce, for their 
topmost boughs 
quite overspread in 
radius two other 
comrades of lesser stature but 
denser growth. (Want of sun- 
light and the perpetual gloom 
of the primitive forest do not 
seriously retard the growth 
of the paper birch, other- 
wise we could not see its 
vigorous stem stand like a 
white giant in the dim 
distance of the dark 
woods as we look from 
one mountain toward an- 
other. 

(The wood of this 
birch is huffish white 
and close-grained ; it 
makes a splendid hard floor, 

and for interior finish has no equal among the 
plainer kinds of ornamental wood. It makes an ex- 
cellent fuel, although it is quickly consumed. In 




Young sprout of Paper Bircb. 



96 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

the woods it is subject to rapid decay, and frequent- 
ly one may meet with an old fallen specimen, appar- 
ently sound if one judges by the look of the bark, 
but really rotten to the core. CThe bark is water- 
proof, and is used by the Indians and the North- 
western hunters for the construction of canoes, the 
seams of which are neatly sewed together and made 
water-tight by the use of pitch). 

There are often great variations from the typical 
forms of tree leaves. I have drawn one of these 
variations, which may commonly be noticed in the 
seedling paper birch. The specimen shows a strongly 
double-toothed leaf, whose whole character — stem and 
surface — was downy. The back of the leaf was par- 
ticularly hairy, as well as the twig, which was some- 
thing of an old gold color, characterized by the usual 
dots of the Betula family. The leaf was soft to the 
touch, and on the under side the veins were white, 
with rather rusty-looking hairs. My drawing was 
taken from a young shoot. 

Red or River Birch. The red birch, sometimes called river 
Betula nigra. birch, is rather a Southern variety, 
seen at its best south of Baltimore. The leaf at 
the edge is very unevenly double-toothed, and its 
aspect is alderlike. The outline is angularly egg- 
shaped, and the stem is short (about half an inch 
long) and downy. The whole leaf has a whitish- 



THE BIRCHES. 



97 



green look on the under side, caused by the soft, 
downy growth over its surface ; the upper side is a 
medium green, not so bright as that of the gray 
birch. The branches are dark brown, the smaller 
ones often ochre or cinnamon color, and always downy 
when young. The bark of the trunk is dark red- 
brown, and often hangs in shreds of a lighter brown 




Red Birch. 



hue; but the trunk never has quite the disheveled 
appearance common to the yellow birch, although the 
thin bark often hangs and curls about the body of 
the tree in the same charming, disorderly fashion. 
Perhaps the best way to identify this birch is by the 
peculiarly irregular leaf; its rude outline resembles 
the alder, but at once the lines and dots on the trunk 
and branches show the birch character. The red 
birch is common in New Jersey and in Bucks County, 
Pa. One need not look for the tree north of Massa- 



98 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



clmsetts, as it belongs in its wild state southward, and 
westward as far as Minnesota. It grows beside the 
banks of streams, and attains a height of 30 to 50 
feet. It is the only birch which can be found in a 
warm climate. Unfortunately, the botanical name in- 
dicates that it is black ; really it should be called B. 
rubra, and there is one authority for this name.* 

I can not leave the birches without calling atten- 
tion to an extreme species, a shrub rather than a tree, 
which shows how far Nature sometimes 
deviates from her commonest types. B. 
glanchdosa is a dwarf variety of the 
birch, with miniature leaves and stunted 
stems, which is found among 
the high mountains of New 
England. My sketch is taken 
from a specimen found on the 
Presidential Range of the White 
Mountains, between Mounts 
Adams and Jefferson ; it grew 
close to the ground, hugging the rocky foundations, 
and the smooth, brown branches were conspicuously 
dotted with resinous, wartlike glands, to use Gray's 
own words. The bush grows from 1 to 4 feet high. 
The leaf is scarcely over three quarters of an inch long. 




Dwarf Birch. 



* Michaux. 



CHAPTEE YIL 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. A. Ed^e not divided. 

THE ALDER, ETC. 

Speckled or The speckled or hoary alder, prop- 

Hoary Alder. eY \j speaking, is a shrub ; yet it often 

Alnusincana. giwg 2Q ^ j^ an( j sometimeg 

has one substantial trunk. There is scarcely a brook 
or streamlet passing through the White Mountain 
region which is not shaded by the very dark olive- 
green foliage of the speckled alder, and I call to 
mind mile after mile of valley road edged by this 
beautiful bushy tree ; indeed, it might justly be 
called the "roadside genius" of sylvan New Hamp- 
shire. I think the " speckled beauty " of the woods, 
although he does not seem to know it, owes this 
alder an enormous debt of gratitude for hiding his 
cool and pebbly retreat and entangling the angler's 

" fly." i Whoever has fished in a mountain stream has 

99 



100 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



unwillingly formed more than a " scraping acquaint- 
ance " with this tree — the brook trout's best friend. 

Its leaves 
are extremely 
coarse, irregu- 
larly toothed, 
prominently 
brown - veined, 
very downy be- 
neath (especially 
when young), and dull, 
dark olive above. The 
bark of the twigs is also olive- 
and that of the 
fe, trunk is shiny, ruddy 
green. The purple and 

yellow catkin which 

M>.t--k- \^V> ... 

n; f ;-L = M_^^te\ appears in spring is 

v\d"-_1>i\l'fi%s extremely graceful, 

^~s/^-^-~— and scatters clouds of 

pollen dust if disturbed. 

In the fall we will find the catkin buds and the 

" cones" on the same bush, like my sketch. The 

cones resemble red-pine cones in miniature. 

The European alder {Alnus glutinosa\ often 
planted in our parks, is a handsome tree from 25 to 
60 feet in height, with a leaf closely resembling that 







THE ALDER, ETC. 101 

of the speckled alder, abruptly pointed, and wavy at 

the fine-toothed edge ; there is a tuft of down at the 

angles of the veins beneath. The younger branches 

and the stems of the leaves are usually glutinous. 

Several forms of the tree are cut-leaved. 

The hop hornbeam, sometimes called 
Hop Hornbeam. r 

ironwood. ironwood, is a slender tree with ex- 
Ostrya Virginica. ceedingly hard wood, which is used 

Odrya Virglniana. . ., ' 

m making cogs for mill-wheels, teeth 
for wooden rakes, mallets, axe handles, cart pins, and 
other farming implements which must possess extra 
strengths Its leaf is beautifully formed, exquisitely 
sharp-toothed, and has a somewhat dull, light-green 
color ; a stem scarcely a quarter of an inch long joins 
it with the slender twig, from which it grows out 
horizontally. A comparison of this leaf with that 
of the black birch reveals a certain similarity ; the 
great difference, however, lies in the texture: the 
hornbeam's leaf lias a rough finish, and the birch 
leaf shines; furthermore, it has a stem fully three 
quarters of an inch long. 

The bark of the trunk is finely furrowed in per- 
pendicular lengths of four inches, rarely more. The 
young shoots are olive-green of a ruddy tone dotted 
with dark brown. The fruit, as one may see by my 
drawing, greatly resembles the hop ; it appears in 
August or September. The tree rarely grows over 



102 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Hop Hornbeam. 



THE ALDER, ETC. 



103 



35 feet high, and has light, slender branches ; these, 

when covered. with thick foliage and the hoplike fruit, 

are extremely graceful. 

The hornbeam, which is also called 
Eornbeam, or 

Water Beech. bl ue or water beech, is common on 

Carpimis the banks of streams from K"ew Eng- 

land to Minnesota and southward. 
It may be distinguished from the hop hornbeam by 
its little three-pointed leaflet or bract, which is placed 
in pairs base to base with the small nuts ; 
these leaflets form an elongated cluster, 
rhich remains hanging on the tree until 
late in the autumn. The leaf stem 
is about half an inch long, and the 
leaf itself, fuzzy when young but 
soon nearly smooth, resembles 
that of the hop hornbeam, except 
that it is rather unevenly toothed. 
The bark of this tree is gray, 
smooth, and not unlike that of 
the beech, although it has in addi- 
tion occasional ridges which mark 
the trunk perpendicularly. The wood is very hard, 
and whitish. The water beech is a slow grower, 
and rarely attains a height of over 20 feet, except 
in the South among the Alleghanies. In the moun- 
tains of New Hampshire it is quite absent. 




Hornbeam. 



104 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Chestnut. The chestnut is so familiar to every 

Castanea sativa. one who lives in or near one of our 

Castanea dentata. . . . ..... 

great cities, in whose vicinity it is 
pretty sure to be planted, that a description of the 
tree seems wholly unnecessary for its identification. 
Yet there are a few interesting facts about the 
luxuriant chestnut which we would do well to re- 
member. 

It is certainly a most extraordinary, rapid-growing 
tree, which in giving is only rivaled by the sugar 
maple. At five years of age it will actually bear 
fruit ; in fifteen years' time it is valuable as timber, 
and if cut down then its shoots, which grow even 
more rapidly than seedlings, de- 
velop into fine trees within an- 
other ten years. An orchard of 
chestnuts will bring its owner 
larger returns than many an ap- 
ple orchard of the same size. 
The fruit is brought into our 
cities in autumn by thousands of 
bushels, and sold at retail in the 
stores and on the corners of busy streets at the rate 
of about six dollars per bushel. Indeed, the Italian 
who sells his tiny measure of roasted chestnuts for 
five cents brings the average nearer eight dollars 
per bushel. In Iowa certain orchards planted eight- 




Chestnut Fruit. 



THE ALDER, ETC. 



105 




~^5 



Chestnut. 



106 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



een years ago are bringing in their owners better 
returns than the same acreage in farm products. 

The chestnut has a very 
dark green leaf of a decid- 
edly rugged character ; its 
teeth are like those of a 
circular saw, and its ribs 
give it a somewhat corru- 
gated surface, which I have 
tried to portray in my sketch. 
The tree grows from 50 to 80 
feet high, has very coarse 
grayish bark, and its luxuriant 
deep-green foliage, crowned with 
the light rusty tinge of innumera- 
ble developing burs in the month 
of August, forms a color effect so 
soft and beautiful that it com- 
mands the admiration of the most 
casual observer. \ In North Caro- 
lina there are many specimens 
whose trunks measure sixteen feet in cir- 
cumference, so it is not always a fine leaf 
which makes a beautiful tree. The wood 
Chinquapin. ^ ugeflll and durablej rather soft, yellow- 
ish, and has a coarse but handsome grain, which is at 
once apparent in the gilding of many a picture frame. 




THE ALDER, ETC. 107 

Chinquapin. The chinquapin is a small variety of 
Castanea pumiia. the chestnut, common in the South, 
which grows from T to 35 feet high. The bur, about 
an inch wide, bears a single small nut rounder than a 
chestnut. The ]eaf is like that of the chestnut, but 
has a downy or woolly appearance beneath, is usually 
less distinctly toothed, and is seldom over five inches 
long. The tree grows wild in southern New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and southward. Its foliage is 
whitish olive-green. 

Beech ^he beech tree is common in all our 

Fagus femiginea. woods North and South ; it extends 
Fagus Americana. we stward to Missouri and south- 
ward to Florida and Texas, and attains its finest 
growth in the southern Mississippi Kiver Valley. 
In the middle of winter, when the forest is bare of 
leaves, we ought to be able to recognize the beech 
at a glance : no other tree has the same smooth, light 
gray, spotty bark ; no other the same smooth, round- 
ish curves on long, low branches which extend hori- 
zontally a good distance from the trunk. The bark 
of trees may easily be grouped under three classes : 
first, perpendicularly ridged; second, horizontally 
striped ; and, third, round spotted. To the first class 
belong a great number of trees, including the elms ; 
to the second belongs the birch; and to the third 
belongs the beech, almost alone. I think, then, there 



108 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



is no reason why one should not know a 
beech even in midwinter^ 

The leaves of this tree are 
most wonderfully delicate and 
charmingly simple ; indeed, I 
know of nothing in the leaf 
world quite so silky and thin, 
yet firm. On the under side 
of a beech 
leaf the del- 
icate, whit- 
ish, wiry 
veins run 
straight from 
the center rib to 
the small sharp tooth at 
the edge ; between, the 
surface is smooth and 
green, not the slightest 
indication of texture 
showing itself unless 
one uses a glass. The 
slender twigs which bear 




Beech and Fruit. 



the leaves spread out hori- 
zontally, not droopingly like elm leaves, are also a 
marvel of delicacy. The tiny three-cornered nut in- 
cased in the miniature bur is familiar to every Amer- 



THE ALDER, ETC. 109 

ican boy, and needs no praise here, jj The tree often 
grows to a height of 100 feet in the South ; north- 
ward it is commonly 50 feet high. In the early au- 
tumn it is particularly beautiful ; all its leaves turn 
an even, clear, pale golden yellow, which seems on a 
sunny day to diffuse a strange radiance in its imme- 
diate vicinity. With my eyes closed I have been sen- 
sible of the peculiar light reflected from the tree in 
its yellow dress. There is no prettier combination of 
color than that of the golden leaves and white-spotted 
gray and greenish trunk. The wood is very hard, 
close-grained, and is used for making chairs, loom 
spools, shoe lasts, and milking stools. The tree is so 
strikingly beautiful in its winter aspect that it has 
become a favorite subject with several well-known 
artists ; Mr. W. L. Palmer, in particular, delights to 
portray its picturesque and stolid gray trunk casting 
blue shadows over the sunlit snow. It has been well 
named " the painted beech," for no other tree has a 
trunk so attractively painted by Nature. 

The European beech (Fagas sylvaticci), occasion- 
ally planted in our parks, is the tree, I believe, which 
is indirectly responsible for the downfall of Mac- 
beth. It was not the Birnam beeches * which cost 

* The old forest, Birnam Wood, has long since disappeared, 
and in its place is a meager young growth scarcely deserving the 
name. 



HO FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

him his life, but something very nearly related to 
them — spears ! The leaf of this tree resembles that 
of its American relative, but it is broader, shorter, 
and in many varieties it is wavy, without teeth; 
in others it is deeply cut at the margin. The pur- 
ple or copper beech (var. atropurpitrea)* is a va- 
riety with a rounded figure, very dark copper-colored 
foliage, and somewhat curved leaves sparsely toothed. 
There are several handsome specimens in the Public 
Garden, Boston. The tree is very slow in unfolding 
its leaves, and it is extremely loath to part with them ; 
for that matter, the beeches often hold their faded, 
ghostly, brown-white leaves throughout the winter? 

* The latest name for the copper beech is Fagus sylvatica 
folius atrorubentibus. 



CHAPTEK Yin. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. A. Edge not divided. 

THE WILLOWS. 

Goat Willow. Many of the willows, more especially 
Salix Caprea. those under cultivation, have become 
so greatly mixed that it is not easy to discriminate 
between them.* One of the most troublesome ones in 
this respect — the goat willow — comes from Europe, but 
it is very frequently seen in cultivation in this coun- 
try. It furnishes the stock or the foundation, so to 
speak, for that beautiful umbrella-shaped tree which is 
known in our parks and gardens as the Kilmarnock 
willow, of a " weeping " form. But this willow may 
at once be distinguished by its roundish leaf ; it is 
oval or long-oval in shape, thick, deep green above 

* It is a singular fact that many willows must be grafted on 
other species quite a distance above the root, otherwise they never 
attain any considerable height — that is, if planted in the shape of 
cuttings. 

Ill 



112 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



and rather soft-downy below. The catkins, which are 

bright yellow, appear 
in early spring long 
before the leaves. 
The goat willow 
has brown or red- 
dish-brown branches, 
and grows not over 
30 feet high. It is adapted 
to dry situations. 
Heart-leaved Willow. The heart-leaved wil- 

Sahx cordata. J QW ma ^ a ] g0 ^ Q eag ^_ 

ly distinguished by its leaf, which is 
usually inclined to a scalloped form at 
the base. But Gray says this is a most 
widely distributed and 
variable species with an 
inappropriate name, as 
its leaves are seldom 
heart-shaped at the base. However, 
my drawing was made from a speci- 
men obtained at the side of a road in 
the valley of the Pemigewasset Riv- 
er, ~New Hampshire, and having 
compared it with another specimen 
which grew in southern New York, I found the 
differences wholly 




Heart-leaved Willow. 



insignificant. 



A distinguishing 



THE WILLOWS. 



113 



characteristic of the leaf of this tree is the conspic- 
uous little leafy formation (called a stipule) at the 
junction of the leaf stern with the branchlet ; this is 
always present. The leaf is green on either side, 
scarcely paler but downy beneath, and finely toothed. 
The heart-leaved willow grows from 8 to 20 feet 
high, and is very common in low and wet places. 

Long-leaved Willow. The ^ng-leaved 
Salix longifoiia. willow is easily 

Salixfluviatilis. recognized by 

its extremely narrow, long leaf, 
which tapers at each end and is 
rather coarsely toothed. It is 
often a shrub, but occasionally, 
when favored by circumstances, 
it attains a height of 20 feet. 

This species is common west- 
ward, but rare along the Atlantic 
coast from Maine to the Potomac 
River, Virginia. ^ — 

Crack Willow. One of our larg- 

SaUxfragiUs. egt W iH wS— the 

crack willow — came to us from Europe, and was 
planted at an early date in the vicinity of Boston, in 
some of the older cities and towns of New Hampshire, 
and elsewhere in the North. It has since become ex- 
tensively naturalized. Its twigs are largely used in 




Long leaved Willow. 



114 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Ciacii Willow 



THE WILLOWS. 115 

the manufacture of baskets.* This willow grows 50 
to 75 feet, and under favorable conditions 90 feet 
high. I know of a very old and handsome 
specimen in central lew Hampshire, with 
a spread of over fifty feet, and a remarkably 
picturesque contour ; it is planted opposite an 
old and interesting farmhouse, in combina- 
tion with which it forms a very beautiful pic- 
ture. The crack willow is not sufficiently ap- 
preciated as an ornamental tree ; it has been ]«•* 
too often displaced by the weeping willow, 
whose conventional and sober aspect is a teeth of 

1 Crack 

poor substitute for the cheerfulness and wmow. 
vivacity of the other tree with its scintillant foliage.f 
The crack willow may be identified by its shining leaf, 
which has two tiny excrescences at the base just at 
the junction with the leaf stem, and rather thick, 
fine teeth ; these, when magnified, look like my 
sketch at A. The under side of the leaf is whitish 
and smooth. The twigs are yellow-green, polished, 
and very brittle at the base ; hence the name of the 
tree. 

* It was imported in the especial interest of basket manufac- 
ture before the .Revolutionary War. 

f The sparkling color of the crack willow's foliage is caused by 
the swaying of the firm leaves in the wind. The weeping willow 
never shows this effect, but its drooping leaves have a listless 
motion. 




116 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

White Willow. The white willow, also imported from 
Salix alba. Europe, is similar in many respects to 
the foregoing species ; in fact, it has become so much 
mixed with it that a recognition of either species by 
means of the leaves is far from easy. 
There are also several va- 
rieties of the white wil- 
low. In its typical form 
the twigs are olive, and the 
leaves are somewhat silky on both 
sides. In var. vitellina the twigs are 
yellow ; in var. ccerulea they are olive, and 
the leaves, smooth above, are a trine bluish . 

' ' W hite 

green. In var. argentea the foliage is very WiUw - 
whitish — silvery gray ; but in each instance the leaves 
in outline taper both ways, and have sharp, thick 
teeth. The wood of the white willow is used in the 
manufacture of charcoal for gunpowder. The tree 
is very common throughout the country. 
Weeping Willow. It is scarcely necessary to say that the 
Satix Babyionica. wee pi n g willow is also a species intro- 
duced from Europe ; but it is extensively cultivated 
here, and is usually planted beside the water. Gray 
says in many places it has spread along river banks 
and lake shores through the drifting of detached 
branches. The large, graceful tree with its long 
pendulous branchlets is too familiar an object to 



THE WILLOWS. 



117 



need description. There is a variety called annularis 
(hoop willow), with leaves almost curved into rings. 
Black Willow. The black willow has rather rough, 
SaUx nigra. blackish bark, and a woolly -stemmed, 
variable leaf which is most often attenuated lance- 
shaped.* There is, besides, 
a little stipule (leafy termi- 
nal) at the junction of the 
leaf stem with the branchlet, 
though this may not always b( 
present. The branches are vei^ 
brittle at the base. The leaf is 
commonly small, not much over two 
inches in length, and when mature is 
smooth, except beneath, on the midrib, which 
is woolly. This willow is common on the 
banks of streams and lakes. In salix nigra 
var. falcata the leaves are extremely long, 
narrow, and frequently scythe-shaped ; they are fur- 
nished with stipules (leafy terminals to the leaf 
stem) which do not fall off when the leaves are 
young ; the edges are very finely and sharply 
toothed. The black willow grows from 15 to 35 
feet high. 




Black 
Willow. 



* I mean, for instance, wider nearest the base of the leaf, then 
gradually narrowing: to the tip ; but one must not rely too much 



on this form. The leaves are very variable. 
9 



118 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Western Black 




The Western black willow is 



Willow, found from central New York 
amygdaioides. westward to Missouri. The 

leaves are rather oval-lance-shaped, pale or 
often hairy beneath, and have long, slen- 
der stems; the little stipules (encircling 
the stems like leaflets) fall oif when the 
leaves are yet young. This tree grows 
from 15 to 40 feet high, and is common 
on the banks of streams from Ohio to 
Missouri. 

Shining Willow. The shining willow may 
Salix lucida. be recognized at once by 
its bright leaf, which is shiny on both 
sides, deep green above and lighter be- 
low; the shape is elliptical, with an extremely 
^ated, sharp point. The branchlets are 
[so shiny and olive-green. The shining 
willow is rather a shrub than a tree, and 
rows only 15 feet high at most. It 
is extremely beautiful in bright sun- 
shine by reason of its glossy leaf, 
and it commonly grows on the 
banks of streams from Maine to 
Pennsylvania, westward and 
northward. It is sometimes called 
American bav willow. 



Western 
B:ack Willow 




Shining' Willow 



THE WILLOWS. 



119 




Long-beaked Willow. 



Long-beaked Willow. Xlie long-beaked willow is a very 
SaUx Bebbiana. common species, which rarely 



120 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

grows to the dignity of a tree ; it is seldom over 15 
feet high. The leaf is so pronounced in character 
that I think few of us can fail to recognize it at a 
glance; it is thin, leathery, large, deep olive-green 
above, and whitish, blue-green below; when young 
it is velvety on the under side, but this velvet tex- 
ture is nearly lost as the leaf becomes older ; on the 
upper side there is also an inclination toward downi- 
ness. My drawing shows the edge of the leaf 
scalloped rather than toothed, and the surface some- 
what broken in lights and shadows. This willow is 
common on roadsides and in moist or dry grounds 
from Maine to Pennsylvania, westward and north- 
ward. It may be found beside the streams which 
wind through the valleys, and at an elevation of over 
two thousand feet amons; the mountains of New 
Hampshire. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. A. Edge not divided. 
THE POPLARS. 




White Poplar. 



Although 



Abele Tree, tlie white 



Populm alba. 



poplar, or, 



P. Alba. 



as it is frequently- 
called, abele tree, 
is not American, 
it lias become so 
familiar through 
wide cultivation 
in this country 
that I must give 
it especial notice. 
It may be iden- 
tified easily by 
the extremely white, 
cottony look of the 



121 



122 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




P. Alba, var. Nivea. 



under side of its leaf, 

which is variously 

shaped according to 

the varieties which 

I have drawn. The 

branches of this tree 

are also downy and 

white when young, and 

its roots are apt to produce 

numerous suckers. Its typical 

form is less grown here than 

the varieties. 

The variety of the white 
which, according to Prof. 
Bailey, is commonest in this 
country, is called P. 
alba, var. nivea* Its 
leaves have three or five 
maplelike divisions, and 
they are very cottony be- 
neath. Another variety intro- 
duced into Europe in 1875, from 
Turkistan, is called P. alba, var. 
Bolleana. This tree has a compact- 
Aiba,var.Boiieana. growing habit, something like the 




* Vide The Cultivated Poplars, Bulletin 68, L. H. Bailey. 



THE POPLARS. 



123 



Lombardy poplar ; its leaves are rather more deeply 
divided than those of the var. nivea. The white 
poplars are rapid growers, and frequently attain a 
height of from 50 to 80 feet. 




American Aspen. 

American Aspen. Tlie American aspen is not com- 
Poplar. monly known by this name ; it is 
Po F ulustremuloides. mogt f reqiie ntly called by the conn- 
try people "popple," a corruption of poplar. It 



124 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

seems to me that a more significant and proper name 
would be trembling aspen, for its leaves flutter 
with the slightest zephyr. The tree may be easily 
identified by the trembling of its leaves and the 
whitish-green color of its trunk. It is never very 
large, and although in northern Kentucky it may 
attain a height of 45 feet, in other parts of the coun- 
try it does not often exceed 25 feet. The flat, white- 
veined, heart-shaped leaf, of a leathery texture and 
dull, pale-green color, spreads out on a plane at right 
angles with a singularly flattened long stem, so limber 
that it allows the leaf to wiggle with the slightest stir 
of air. If a small spray or branch of the tree is held 
in the hand before the mouth and one blows gently 
on the leaves, it will be seen at once how and why 
they tremble in every passing breeze ; the swaying 
motion is exactly like that of a bit of writing paper 
allowed to fall through the air. The Lombardy 
poplar leaf also has a long, flat stem, and it sways in 
the same way. 

The aspen is sometimes mistaken for the gray or 
white birch, because both trees have a whitish trunk, 
spare horizontal lower and oblique upper limbs, and 
both are similar in figure ; but the leaves of these two 
trees are entirely different : the birch has an exceed- 
ingly brilliant light-green foliage, which reflects the 
sunlight and quite often dazzles the eye, while the 



THE POPLARS. 125 

aspen has a whitish foliage without a suspicion of 
shininess. Along the banks of the Pemigewasset 
River, and in the adjacent woodlands, this tree, with 
its ever- trembling leaves, is a very familiar object. 
Its smooth, greenish trunk is cut by the lumbermen 
into short, round logs, which are sent to neighbor- 
ing mills and ground by powerful machinery, with 
the aid of water, into a soft pulp ; this is pressed 
into paste-boardlike layers, in which preparatory 
condition it is sent to various factories for the man- 
ufacture not only of paper but of an infinite variety 
of useful objects, such as pails, stove-mats, wash- 
tubs, boxes, trays, etc. 

._, . The large-toothed aspen has a larger 

Large-toothed & 1 & 

Aspen, and coarser leaf than that of the 
Popuius variety just described, and its outline 

grandideutata. . . 

is roundish and irregularly wavy. 
There are, perhaps, only seventeen coarse teeth to 
each leaf, and these are very dull-pointed. The leaf 
stems are also flat and long ; in fact, the large-toothed 
aspen has leaves of nearly the same character as those 
of its more beautiful relative, but lacking the pretty 
heart-shape. The leaf is large, however, from three 
to ~&ve inches long, smooth on both sides when old, but 
covered with down when quite young. The tree is 
common in the North, but rare southward, except in 
the Alleghanies. It grows from 40 to 80 feet high, 



126 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Large-toothed Aspen. 



has greenish-gray, smooth bark, and soft, white wood, 
which is also ground into pulp and used extensively 
in the manufacture of paper, etc. 



THE POPLARS. 



127 



Downy Poplar. The downy poplar is distinguished 

Popuius by its leaves, which, downy when 

wop y a - young and becoming smooth on both 

sides when older, still retain the down on the veins 

beneath. The leaf 
is also quite 
blunt at the end, 
never tapering to a 
point, and the teeth 
are obtuse, with an in- 
ward curve. The tree 
grows from 40 to 80 feet 
high, and is rather rare. It 
will be found on the borders of swamps 
from Connecticut to southern Illinois 
and southward. 
The cottonwood, or Carolina poplar, 
Carolina Poplar. j s a y erv large tree of rapid growth, 

Popuius monilifera. wying from 6Q to 15Q feet in ne igl)t. 

In the Mississippi Yalley and immediately west it 
borders every stream. It can also be found, but not in 
great plenty, from western New England to Florida. 
The leaf is similar in character to those of the poplars 
already described, except that it is quite smooth, glossy, 
nearly as wide as it is long, and sometimes has in- 
curved, slightly hairy teeth ; this last is hardly a very 
common characteristic, but it is observable in many 




Downy Poplar. 



Cottonwood. 



128 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 






instances. The rapidly growing young twigs bear 
leaves which, sometimes measure eight inches in 

length. However, it 
must hot be forgotten 
that the seedlings and 
young shoots of all 
trees frequently pro- 
duce leaves of an 
abnormal size, if we 
take the leaf of an old 
tree as a standard. 

The leaf of the balsam 
poplar, or tacamahac, is a ■ 
great remove from its 
trembling relative. ' It 
hardly resembles it in any particular, if 
I except the white back. Above, the 
color is a somewhat yellowish green ; be- 
low, it is whitish, like that of all other poplar leaves. 
The outline is distinctly egg-shaped, but pointed, 
and is finely but obtusely toothed. Prof. Bailey 
speaks of this tree as the most variable of all the 
poplars cultivated in this country. He says it is rep- 
resented by three marked varieties, " differing from 
the species and from each other in the habit of growth, 
shape and color of leaves, and character of twigs." The 
tree grows from 40 to 70 feet high, has a pyramidal 




Balsam Poplar. 

Tacamahac. 

Populus 

balsamifera. 
Populus suaveolens. 



Cottonwood. 



THE POPLARS. 



129 



figure, and is found in the woods and beside the 
streams in the Northern States. Its leaf is thick, firm, 
and borne erect on the twigs ; and the large, brown- 
yellow leaf buds are covered in spring with 
a fragrant resinous coating. I have 
drawn for comparison the leaves 
the three varieties which 
-var. intermedia, var. 



are- 

mminalis {P. laurifolia, 
Sarg.), and var. latifolia. 
Balm of 
Gilead may 
at once be recog 
nized by its f ra 
grant resinous leaf buds ; these 
are especially odorous in spring- 
time. It is purely a matter of 



Balm of Gilead 

Populus 



fera, 
var. candicans. 




Populus balsamifera. 

taste if one considers the buds fragrant', but cle 
gustibus non est disptctandum. In my own opinion, 
the smell is unpleasantly suggestive of the "great 
unclean," or rather the mildly unclean, who use per- 
fumery, resulting in a mixture which can not de- 
ceive ! Guessing at an analysis of the perfume in a 
leaf bud, I should define it thus : equal parts of sandal- 
wood, patchouli, and barber shop to one part of es- 
sence of boiled onions. The bit of balm of Gilead I 
had in my hands last September smelled just that way. 



130 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

The leaves are large and beautiful, perfectly heart- 
shaped, green, of a light-olive tone above and whitish 
(sometimes rusty) beneath; their stems are an inch 




P. Balsamifera, var. 
Intermedia. 



P. Balsamifera, var. 
Viminalis. 



P. Balsamifera, 
var. latifolia. 



and a quarter long, a trine hairy, and a little bit 
flattened; sometimes they are touched with red. 
The bark of the twigs is raw-umber brown in color ; 
that of the trunk is about the same, with darker 
patches. The tree is exceedingly rare in a wild state, 
but is very common in cultivation. It was planted on 
the borders of the lagoon at the World's Fair, where 
its rich, broad foliage showed in handsome, irregularly 
rounded masses. The tree in this respect is quite dif- 
ferent from the other poplars, which exhibit rather 
pyramidal figures. 

Perhaps the most beautiful of these taller and 



THE POPLARS. 



131 



slenderer trees is the Lombardy poplar {Populus 
nigra, var. Italica / also Pojpulus dilatata), which 




Balm of Gilead 



ascends like a church spire some 100 feet or more to 
the sky. It has a pretty, triangularly shaped leaf, 
with a nattish stem, often red, and a smooth, thin, 
leathery texture ; the teeth are not sharp; the color 



132 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



IPS?? 




Lombardy Poplar. 



THE POPLARS. 133 

above is a deep, clear green ; that beneath is a little 
lighter. The trunk of this tree is almost completely 
covered from the ground upward with suckerlike 
straight branches ; these have a lightish gray-green 
bark. The Lombardy poplar, one of the most pic- 
turesque of objects in a hilly landscape, is unfortu- 
nately ill adapted to the severity of our Northern 
climate. | (In the Pemigewasset Valley I know of 
three tine specimens which are gradually losing their 
tall figures through the bitter cold of the New Hamp- 
shire winters ; the tops are slowly taking on the ap- 
pearance of so much perpendicular brushwood bare 
of every leaf. 



10 



CHAPTER X. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. B. Edge divided. 

THE HAWTHORNS. 

The hawthorns, or white thorns, as they are some- 
times called, are commonest in the South ; bnt many 
varieties may be found in the JSforth, where they 
can always be distinguished from other trees, at all 
seasons of the year, by their thorns. 

Washington Thorn. The Wash- 
Cratagns cordata. i n gton thorn 

is a tree which 
grows not over 
30 feet in 
height, greatly 
esteemed for its 
beautiful flowers and 
bright-red berries. The 
leaf is a deep, lustrous green in summer, and turns 
late in the fall a rich orange-red. The flowers ap- 
pear about the last of May ; they are white, and 

134 




Washington Thorn. 




THE HAWTHORNS. 135 

clustered like cherry blossoms, but in miniature. 
The berries are not much larger than peas ; they 
are bright red, and ripen in Sep- 
tember; many of them cling to the 
boughs throughout the winter, but 
eventually become brown and sere. 
The Washington thorn is hardly 
common, but is found generally scat- 
tered through the South from the 

_ -P-. . English Hawthorn. 

valley of the Potomac Kiver to 
northern Georgia and Alabama, and from Tennessee 
and Kentucky to the valley of the lower Wabash 
River in Illinois.* It is hardy northward to south- 
ern New England, where it flowers later than any 
of the other thorns. It is a favorite among gar- 
deners for hedges, and it has long since found its 
way into European gardens. It does not quite equal 
the English hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha\\ how- 
ever, for this species has a most charming pink (some- 
times white) flower, which has been sung by all the 
English poets. 

There is a narrow-leaved thorn (Crataegus spaihu- 
lata), closely related to the Washington thorn, which 



* It has also found its way into Bucks County, Pa. 

f There are several large, handsome English hawthorns in the 
Public Garden, Boston, some of which are double-lowered. This 
species is occasionally found in Bucks County, Pa., running wild. 



136 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




has a similar fruit, and a singularly long, dark-green 
leaf, thick, and almost evergreen. This tree or shrub 
grows sometimes 20 feet high, and is found (it is not 
very common) from Yirginia southward. 
It flowers in May. 
Tall Hawthorn. The tall hawthorn is a 
Crataegus viridis. Southern tree, 20 to 35 
feet high, whose leaf is most frequently 
undivided, and rather pointed at each 
end. Its bright-red fruit is ovoid, and 
not over a quarter of an inch broad. 
The branches bear a few large thorns or 
none at all. This variety is rare in the 
extreme Southeastern States, but is com- 
mon west of the Mississippi River, from 
St. Louis southward to the Colorado River, Texas. 
It grows beside streams or in low, rich soil. 
Parsley-leaved The parsley-leaved thorn has a beau- 

Thorn, tiful, deeply cut leaf, 

Crataegus a&if alia. somewliat simikr to 

that of the English hawthorn ; the 
divisions are irregularly toothed and 
crowded together. The flowers ap- 
pear in late May ; they are white, 
about half an inch in diameter, and 
there are many in a cluster. The fruit is rather 
long ovoid in shape and less than half an inch in 



Tall Hawthorn. 




Parsley-leaved 
Thorn. 



THE HAWTHORNS. 



137 



length ; it is coral -red, and ripens in September. The 
tree grows from 10 to 20 feet high, and has long 
spreading branches. It may be found in moist woods 
or in rich ground from southern Virginia southward 
to Florida, and westward to Arkansas and Texas. 

The white 



White or 
Scarlet-fruited 
Thorn. 

Cratmgus 
coccinea. 



thorn, some- 
times called 
scarlet -fruit- 
ed thorn, is 
a small tree 




White Thorn. 



(often a shrub), scarcely over 25 feet high, which may 
be found in woods or on the borders of fields through- 
out the North ; it is rather rare southward, although 



138 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

it extends to Florida. The fruit is dull orange-red, 
and resembles a very diminutive crab apple ; it is 
ripe in September. The flowers grow in clusters 
similar to those of the English hawthorn, and meas- 
ure about two thirds of an inch across; they are 
white, and very often pink-tinged. The leaf is ex- 
tremely ornamental — conventionally regular in char- 
acter as well as appearance with its deep - green, 
smooth, and shiny surface. The branchlets are more 
or less covered with thorns about an inch long. The 
white thorn is well worthy of cultivation, as early 
and late, in flower or fruit, it is both beautiful and 
decorative. 

Scarlet Haw. The scarlet haw, which formerly was 
Crataegus mollis, confused with the preceding variety, 
is marked with pronounced differences. The fruit is 
much larger (an inch to an inch and a quarter in diam- 
eter) ; it is sweet and edible, and falls in September. 
The leaf divisions are less sharply pointed, and the 
leaf itself is lighter green and much larger. This 
thorn also flowers early — when the leaves are half 
grown, in the middle or end of May. The mature 
leaf measures from three to five inches in length, and 
is often densely cottony below. 

The scarlet haw grows on the margins of swamps 
and along streams, in rich soil, from Massachusetts 
Bay to Michigan and Missouri, and from the middle 



THE HAWTHORNS. 139 

of Tennessee to Texas. In New England it looks 
more treelike, and attains a larger size than the oth el- 
American thorns.* 

Blackthorn. The blackthorn has smaller fruit 
Cratmgus tomentosa. (half an inch long), ovoid in shape 
and dull-red in color. The leaves have a very doubt- 
fully divided ontline — that is, some of 
them are so slightly incised that they ^| 
can hardly be called divided. They 
are light olive-green, and turn dull 
orange-red in the autumn. The 
flowers are very ill-scented, and 
appear two or three weeks later 
than those of the foregoing va- 
riety. This thorn grows from 10 ,ij Blackthorn, 
to 20 feet high, and is distributed from eastern New 
York westward to Michigan and Missouri, and south- 
westward to Georgia, Tennessee, and eastern Texas. 
It is not very common. 

Dotted-fmited The dotted -fruited thorn has a small 

Thorn. } ea f (perhaps an inch and three quar- 

Crat^jus punctata. ^ ]ong) ^^ ^ ^ ^^ bnt 

is irregularly toothed ; it is pale, dull green. The 
fruit is an inch in diameter, round, more or less white 
dotted, and generally red, but often deep yellow. This 




* Vide Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 



140 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Cockspur Thorn. 

Crataegus 

Crus-galli. 



Dotted- fruiter -™ 
Thorn. V 



tree grows less than 30 feet high, and is common 
throughout the North; it extends southward to 
Georgia. Its branches are always hori- 
zontal. 

The cockspur 
thorn is a 
variety most 
frequently favored by culti- 
vation ; it is very common- 
ly used for hedges. The 
thorns measure two or three mches in length. The 
leaves are not divided, and are toothed only above 
the middle ; they are dark green and shiny above, but 
pale below; in autumn they turn a dull 
orange-red. The flowers, which bloom 
as late as the middle of June, are 
white, and somewhat fragrant. The 
fruit is similar to that of the scarlet- 
fruited thorn, but rather more pear- 
shaped (very slightly so); it also 
ripens about the same time, and 
remains on the tree all winter. 
The cockspur thorn is found on the 
margins of swamps, or in rich soil, throughout the 
North ; it extends southward to Florida and west- 
ward to Missouri and Texas ; it is most abundant and 
reaches its largest size in Arkansas and Louisiana. 




THE HAWTHORNS. 



141 



Yellow or Summer The yellow or summer haw is a 

Haw. Southern variety of the thorn which 

CratcEgus flava. grows not over 20 feet high, and is 

esteemed for its fruit, which is edible and 
pleasant flavored ; it is yellow, tinged with 
red, generally pear-shaped, but frequently 
round. The leaf is somewhat wedge- 
shaped, but variable. This thorn extends 
through the South from Virginia to Mis- 
souri. 
Southern Summer The Southern 

Haw. ]2 aw is a Southern thorn 

Cratxqus aestivalis. 1 • -i x i • i xi orv 

which grows not higher than 30 




Summer Yellow or Sum- 
mer Haw. 





Summer Southern Haw. Summer Southern Haw, with larger fruit. 



feet, and bears fragrant, edible fruit, bright red, 
somewhat dotted, and about two thirds of an inch in 



142 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

diameter. This is gathered in quantities where the 
tree is common, and sold in the markets of the towns 
in southwestern Louisiana. It is made into preserves 
and jelly. The leaf is somewhat wedge-shaped, leath- 
ery, and toothed above the middle. The summer 
haw grows from the valley of the Savannah River, 
South Carolina, to northern Florida ; it extends 
westward to Texas. This tree bears the largest 
flowers and the best-flavored fruit of all the thorns. 



CHAPTEK XL 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth (some without). B. Edge divided. 

THE OAKS WITH ACORNS WHICH RIPEN 
IN ONE YEAR. 

There are so many oaks, and there is sucli an in- 
finite variety to the shape of their leaves, that it is 
best for ns to learn the exact location * of each spe- 
cies, and carefully note the differences which exist 
between their acorns, bark, wood, etc. I have there- 
fore placed the oaks in regular botanical order. First 
come the white oaks, chestnut oaks, and the ever- 
green-leaved live oak, all of which bear acorns which 
ripen within the year ; next the black and red oaks, 
whose acorns take two years in which to mature ; and 
finally, the leather-leaved oaks, some of which are 
almost or quite evergreen in the South ; these also 
take two years in which to ripen their acorns. It 

* I am indebted to Prof. C. S. Sargent in many instances for 
the precise localities of certain species. 

143 



144 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

will certainly be quite an easy task to identify a tree 
by its leaf, acorn, and bark, as they are described or 
drawn here, without the aid of a method of arrange- 
ment different from that which will be found in 
Gray's Field, Forest, and Garden Botany. Of course, 
the acorn is a " telltale " of the oak ; but in case it 
should not be conveniently present, or we should fail 
in recognizing it, there are other equally reliable 
means which I have pointed out of identifying a tree. 
But we must bear in mind that the certain recogni- 
tion of a particular species by means of its leaf is 
rendered somewhat difficult at times by variations. 
Little seedlings are especially troublesome in this re- 
spect, so one's attention should be turned to the larger 
trees. 

White Oak. The white oak grows from 70 to 100 
Qaercus alba. f eet? an d m the forest 150 feet high, 
if it is crowded away from the sunlight ; but in the 
open, where it reaches its fullest development, it sends 
out great, wide-spreading branches, and attains a very 
moderate height, with rather a domelike figure. The 
leaves are round-lobed, narrow at the base, smooth, 
deep bright green above and pale green below ; when 
very young they are woolly and red ; in the fall they 
turn a rich dark red, and many of them remain on 
the branches through the winter. The n^A-cupped 
(not scaly-cupped) acorn is generally borne in pairs, 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



145 




White Oak. 



sometimes on a short but usually on a long stem. The 
brown nut is sweet and edible. 

The bark of the trunk is usually gray, tinged with 



146 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



brown ; it is not very rough, and in old trees it is apt 
to become detached in large, thin scales. 

The white oak is equally beantiful in spring, sum- 
mer, and autumn ; it begins and ends with rich red 
foliage, and in midsummer it is clothed in luxuriant 
green. Its hard, tough wood is largely exported to 
Europe, and it is used in the manufacture of carriages, 
a variety of useful articles, and for the interior finish 
of buildings. The tree grows from Maine to Minne- 
sota and southward; it reaches its highest develop- 
ment on the west slopes of the Alleghany Mountains, 
in Tennessee and the Carolinas, and in the bottom 
lands of the lower Ohio basin. It is rarely found in 
northern New England, but farther south it is quite 

plentiful. At Middle- 
ton, Mass., there is a 
fine tree over 80 feet 
high, and a certain 
aged specimen in the 
village of South See- 
konk, Mass., is be- 
lieved to be six hun- 
dred years old. 

Post or Iron Oak. Tne P ost or 

Post Oak. Quercus stdlata. iron Oak 

Quercus minor. £ 

grows from 
50 to 60 feet and rarely 100 feet high in the for- 




THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 147 

ests. Tlie bark of the trunk resembles that of the 
white oak ; it is a trifle darker. The dark-green 
leaves are roughened above and below with little 
hairs ; their under side is a trifle grayish ; in autumn 
they turn a dull yellow or- light brown. The lobes 
of the leaves are rounded and sprawling, their bases 
frequently wedge-shaped. The acorn is small, and 
has a short stem, on which it usually grows in pairs 
(sometimes in threes) ; the cup -shaped cup incases at 
least one third of the nut. 

The post oak is found from the eastern extremity 
of Cape Cod, along the southern coast of Massachu- 
setts, Rhode Island, and Long Island, N. Y., to 
northern Florida ; it is also common in the dry soil 
of Martha's Yineyard, where its growth is shrublike, 
with crooked stems. It extends southwestward to 
Texas, and has its best growth in the dry uplands of 
the Mississippi basin. Its hard, durable wood is used 
in making carriages, and other useful articles which 
require strength of construction. In the distance it 
is easy to recognize the post oak because of its ex- 
tremely dark-green foliage. 

The burr or over-cup oak has an ex- 
Burr or Over-cup L 

Oak. tremely long, deeply lobed (near the 

Quercvs middle) leaf, smooth above and pale 

green and downy below. This is one 

of the largest of the oaks on the eastern side of the 



148 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Mississippi River. It grows under favorable circum- 
stances from 150 to 170 feet high ; its average height, 
however, is not much over 75 feet. 
In the open it develops a 
broad, round head and 
wide - spreading branches. 
The bark of the trunk is 
deeply furrowed, and fre- 
quently broken into plate- 




like. 



light-brown scales ; that 



Burr or Over-cup Oak 



of the young branches is 
dark brown, marked with 
corky ridges or wings. The 
new leaves are a tender 
yellow green, and the 
thicker mature ones deep 
green and shiny ; beneath, the color is lighter ; in 
autumn they turn dull yellow or yellow brown. A 
mature leaf will measure from six to twelve inches 
in length. The acorn of this oak is distinguished by 
the heavy fringing around the nut at the edge of 
the cup ; the cup itself is extremely rough. The 
acorns usually grow solitary, and vary in size and 
shape. 

The burr oak is found in the Penobscot River 
Valley, Me., along the shore of Lake Champlain, Vt., 
and in the valley of the Ware River, Mass. ; it is also 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



149 



in Bucks and Lancaster Counties, Pa., and extends west- 
ward to Montana and Indian Territory. The exten- 
sive " oak openings " in the prairies are mostly formed 
of the burr oak ; and Dr. P. K. Hoy, of the Phila- 
delphia Academy of Natural Sciences, speaks of it as 
a Western oak, which can not be excelled in graceful 
beauty when it is not crowded in growth, but left free 
to follow the law of its development. The changing 
colors of the long leaf as it is agitated 
by the wind give the tree a sin- 
gularly beautiful appearance 
in summer ; in winter it 
may readily be identified by 
its curiously winged 
branchlets. The tree 
is most abundant and 
reaches its finest develop- 
ment in the Mississippi basin 
and Indiana and Illinois. Its wood 
is superior in strength to that of the 
other oaks. 

Southern Over-cup Oak. The Southern over- 
Querms lyrata. cup oak is a large 
tree growing 70 to 80 and sometimes 
100 feet high, which inhabits the river southern over-cup 
swamps of North Carolina and south- 
ern Indiana, and extends along the coast from south- 
11 




150 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

ern Maryland to western Florida, through the Gulf 
States to Texas, and westward to Missouri and Ar- 
kansas. According to Prof. Sargent, it is rare in all 
the States, but reaches its commonest and largest 
growth in the Ked Eiver Yalley, La., and the adja- 
cent country of Arkansas and Texas. The leaves 
are of a reddish-copper color when young, and deep 
green when mature, with a silvery downiness be- 
neath ; they are crowded at the ends of the branch- 
lets ; few of them are over seven inches in length ; 
they turn dull orange-red in the fall. The leaf lobes 
are somewhat acute. The acorn has a roundish cup 
with very rough scales, which nearly covers the glob- 
ular nut. The four species just described complete 
the list of common white oaks. 

„n-.x /> ■> The swamp white oak belongs to the 
Swamp White Oak. l » 

Quercus Ucoior. group of chestnut oaks,* the other 

Quercusplatanoides. three memberg f wllich i mme diately 

follow. Its leaf has a wavy edge which is not deep- 
ly cut ; it is shiny green above, aiid silvery -white, 
downy below. In autumn it finally turns a yellow 
brownish-buff color. The acorn usually grows on a 
long stem (frequently in pairs), and has a rough, 
rounded cup, with a bristling if not a fringed edge. 
The nut is sweet and edible. 

* The leaves closely resemble those of the chestnut. 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



151 



This oak is commonly found on the borders of 
streams and swamps ; it rarely attains a height of over 




70 feet. In western New York and northern Ohio it 
reaches its finest development. It is distributed over 



152 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

the country from southern Maine to Iowa and Mis- 
souri, and along the Alleghany Mountains to Georgia. 
The young, flaky bark, and small, crooked branchlets 
which are apt to hang from the heavy limbs of the 
swamp white oak, make the identification of the tree 
easy at all seasons. 

There is a small but symmetrical swamp white 
oak near one of the little ponds in the Arnold Ar- 
boretum, which is somewhat isolated and pictur- 
esquely defined in the landscape over against the 
north. One of the largest specimens of which a 
record has been preserved grew on the Wadsworth 
estate, one mile from the village of Geneseo, in the" 
western part of New York. The " Wadsworth oak," 
as this tree was called, met with destruction several 
years ago by the washing away of the bank of the 
Genesee River. In 1851 the short trunk had an 
average circumference of twenty-seven feet.* There 
is also a very beautiful tree, 65 feet high, on the edge 
of the water south of " Kame," in Waverly, Mass. 
Basket or Cow Oak. The basket or cow oak, another of 
Querms MicJiauxii. t h e chestnut oaks, gets its name from 
the fact that its wood, which is easily split into thin 
strips, is largely used for making baskets. It is a tree 
which not infrequently attains a height of 100 feet. 

* Some Large Trees in Western New York. Buckley, American 
Journal of Science, vol. xiii, p. 397. 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



153 



The leaf is similar in shape and character to that 

of the foregoing species, but it is extremely woolly 

beneath. It is also blunt (not wedge-shaped) 

at the base. In autumn it turns a rich 

dark-red color. The acorn grows 

solitary or in pairs, and has a 

very rough, shallow cup, and 

a sweet, edible nut. 

This tree is one of the 
most valuable and beautiful 
of the chestnut oaks. It is 
easily identified by its flaky, 
silvery -gray bark, and its 
tall, massive trunk. It 
grows in swamps and beside 
streams, from "Wilmington, 
Del., southward to north- 
ern Florida, and 
extends from In- 
diana and Missouri 
southward to Texas 
and the Gulf. 
The chestnut oak grows from 60 to 
70 and occasionally 100 feet high, 




Basket Oak. 



Chestnut Oak. 

Quercus Prinus, 



and has leaves which somewhat resemble those of the 
chestnut tree. They are orange -green when young, 
and decidedly yellow-green when mature. In the 



154 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

autumn they turn a lovely warm buff -yellow, with 
occasional touches of pale scarlet. They are mi- 
nutely downy beneath, but very smooth above. 




Chestnut Oak. 

The chestnut oak is generally found on hillsides 
and on high banks of streams. It is very common 
along the lower banks of the Hudson Eiver and in 
the vicinity of New York city. It extends generally 
from the southern coast of Maine to Delaware and 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 155 

the District of Columbia, and follows the Alleghany 
Mountains as far south as Alabama. It attains its 
finest development in the mountains of l*Sorth Caro- 
lina and Tennessee. In the North it may also be 
found on the west shore of Lake Champlain, in the 
valley of the Genesee River, N. Y., and on the 
shores of Lake Erie; from here it extends south- 
ward to Tennessee. 

I do not find the chestnut oak at all common in 
~New Hampshire. In the valley of the Pemigewasset 
River it is entirely absent ; but in the village of Bed- 
ford, in the southern part of the State, there is a large 
specimen near the house of Mr. S. Manning which is 
remarkably beautiful. 

A large and famous tree is now standing at 
Presqu'ile, near Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, under which, 
it is said, Washington in 1783 used to mount his horse 
when he went from his headquarters on the west bank 
of the river to the army encampment at Fishkill. The 
diameter of its trunk is fully seven feet, and a hun- 
dred years ago it was famous for its age.* 

The bark of the chestnut oak is particularly rich 
in tannin, and is much used in the tanning of leather. 
The tree is one of the most beautiful of all the oaks. 
Its rich, warm, green foliage marks the landscape 



* Garden and Forest, vol. i, p. 511. 



156 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



with agreeable luminous color, especially in the mid- 
dle distance. 

Yellow Chestnut Oak. Tne yellow chestnut oak has a pe- 
Quercus MuMenbergii. culiarly narrow leaf scarcely two 

Quercus acuminata. , . . -. . , , . , 

inches in width, which more near- 
ly resembles the chestnut leaf than that of any other 

chestnut oak. The 
tree grows from 80 to 
100, and sometimes 160 
feet high, but it rarely 
exceeds an altitude of 
50 feet when growing 
in the open. The bark 
of the trunk is dull, sil- 
very gray, with a more 




or less scaly surface. The 
leaves, which are a beautiful 
yellow green above and silvery 
gray below, are crowded at the 
ends of the branches, and hang so that 
the under surfaces show with every 
passing breeze. This imparts a novel 
and delightful nickering color to the 
tree which reminds one of the trem- 
bling aspen ; but the oak's shift of 
light is slower, and its coloring is far richer. In 
autumn the leaves turn an orange-bronze hue. 



Yellow Chestnut 
Oak. 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



157 



■/%* 



The yellow chestnut oak grows on rich lands over 
the same extent of country (but in lower regions) as 
the chestnut oak. It extends no farther northeast 
than Massachusetts, but in the "West it is found as far 
as Nebraska and eastern Kansas. It also extends 
through the South to Texas. It attains its fullest 
proportions in the valley of the lower Wabash River 
and its vicinity. 

The acorn has a rounded, thin 
cup with close scales, which most fre- 
quently covers one third of the nut. 

These four species conclude the 
list of chestnut oaks. 

Live Oak ^ ne ^ ve oa ^ nas an 

Quercus v ire as. essentially different 

Quercus VirgUiana. ^ frQm ^^ 

which I have already described. It 

is evergreen, thick and leathery, has 

no lobes or divisions, and is rarely, 

if ever, toothed. It measures from 

two to five inches in length, and is 

smooth, dark green above, but hoary 

beneath. The acorns are rich dark 

brown in color, and have a rather LiveOak. 

pointed nut with a sweet kernel. 

The leaves remain green well on into the winter, 

and then turn yellowish brown, falling only when 




158 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

the new leaves appear in the spring. The wood has 
a yellowish color and is extremely heavy, a cubic 
foot weighing a trifle over fifty -nine pounds. It has 
a beautiful grain and is susceptible of a fine polish, 
but it is extremely hard to work, and takes the edge 
off every tool. Years ago it was highly esteemed 
for shipbuilding, and in 1799 the Government spent 
two hundred thousand dollars in the purchase of 
Southern lands on which live-oak timber was grow- 
ing suitable for the navy. The use of iron in mod- 
ern shipbuilding, however, having greatly diminished 
the need of oak timber, the Government, by the con- 
summation of an act finally approved by Congress in 
February, 1895, opened for entry and occupation by 
the public large tracts of wooded land which it had 
held for many years in the interest of the navy.* 

Live oak grows from Virginia southward near the 
coast to Florida, where it abounds. It extends along 
the Gulf States to Texas, where it reaches its limit in 
the valley of the Red River and the extreme western 
borders of the State. It varies in size from a mere 
shrub to a tree 40 or 50 feet high. 

* Vide Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 



CHAPTER XII. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth (some without). B. Edge divided (some undivided). 

THE OAKS WITH ACORNS WHICH RIPEN 
IN TWO YEARS. 

Red Oak. The red oak grows from 70 to 80 

Qaercus rubra. f ee t high, and is the most northern 
species of the country. I find it very common in the 
White Mountain region of New Hampshire. A hand- 
some though not large specimen growing on the slope 
of Sunset Hill, Campton, measures 45 feet in height, 
and has a trunk with a circumference of over nine 
feet. The red oak extends from Maine to Tennessee, 
and follows the Alleghany Mountains to northern 
Georgia ; westward it extends to Minnesota and cen- 
tral Kansas. In the summer its bristle-tipped leaf is 
bright green, and in the autumn it turns a rich, deep 
red or a dull orange. The acorn requires two years 
in which to mature ; its cup is saucer-shaped, and the 

nut is large. The tree attains its greatest size in the 

159 



160 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

States north of the Ohio Kiver, but at its southern 
limit it is very small. 

The red oak, near the northern borders of the 




Red Oak. 



United States, often bears leaves with fewer divisions, 
and smaller acorns ; but such forms are so intermixed 
and inconstant that they can not be considered varie- 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



161 



ties.* My larger drawing was taken from a young 
tree in Campton, N. H., and that of the single leaf 
was taken from a tree in New Jersey. 

The bark of the trunk is dark gray -brown, 
with a surface of scaly plates. The 
tree grows rapidly and is 
peculiarly adapted for the 
ornamentation of 



parks and road- 
sides in the most 
northern States,, 
although it is 
by no means as 
beautiful as the 
following spe- 
cies. 

Scarlet Oak. The 
Quercus coccinea. g.q<ay- 




let oak deserves its 
name, as the leaves 
turn a most bril- 
liant red, all but ^ Redoak. 
scarletf This statement may seem a trine anoma- 



* Vide Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 

t Scarlet is a red thoroughly saturated with yellow : vermilion 
is typical of such a color, and it is commonly seen in the Madame 
Crozy canna. 



162 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

lous, but the name is not inapplicable, for " scarlet " 
is a word commonly accepted as synonymous with 
bright red, and the foliage of this species turns a more 






-CS 




Scarlet Oak. 



brilliant color than that of any of the other oaks. The 
leaf is bright red when it is born, lustrous green when 
it reaches maturity, and burning red when it dies. It 



the oaks wrrn acorns. 1G3 

is also, as Ruskin would say, " deeply rent," for the 
lobes are cut very deeply, and impart a very ragged 
appearance to the foliage. 

The acorn has a thick, top-shaped cup, which 
covers the third of the nut. The kernel is bitter and 
whitish. The bark of the trunk is thick, brownish, 
and roughly seamed. The tree grows from TO to 80 
feet high, and is one of our most charmingly orna- 
mental sylvan characters, particularly suited to the 
landscape garden because of its beautiful autumn 
coloring, and its vivacious leafage which fairly 
sparkles in the sunlight. 

The scarlet oak grows beside the Androscoggin 
River in Maine, and extends thinly through south- 
ern New Hampshire to Vermont and central New 
York. It also extends from Massachusetts Bay to 
the District of Columbia and along the Alleghany 
Mountains to North Carolina ; westward it is found 
from Michigan and Illinois to Nebraska and Min- 
nesota. 

Black Oak. The leaves of the black oak are not 
Quercus coccmea, g0 deeply incised as those of the scar- 

var. tinctoria. x d 

Qmrcus vdutina. let oak, and its trunk is much darker 
in color ; in fact, its branches often appear blackish. 
The tree grows 70 to 80 and rarely 150 feet high. It 
has a wide range, which extends from New York to 
the Gulf States. Its limit eastward is in southern New 



104 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

England, and westward in Kansas and Texas. The 
finest growth is in the valley of the lower Ohio River. 




Black Oak. 

The leaf is somewhat thin, dark green when mature, 
with a yellower under surface, and in autumn it turns 
a dull, rich, leather-red color. It falls during the 
winter. The acorn is small, and has a deep cup with 
rather a jagged rim and rough surface. I have no- 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



165 



ticed that many of the smooth nuts are striped, but a 
much more reliable 
characteristic is 
connected with 
the kernel ; this 
is very yellow 
and bitter. (The 
inner bark of 
this oak is 
orange in col- 
or and sat- 
urated with 
tannin, which 
makes it valua- 
ble to the tanner 
and dyer. It is 
commercially known 
as quercitron. 

Pin or Swamp ^he 

Spanish Oak. the 

Quercus palustris. -i 

rounded, deep incisions and 
sharp, bristle - tipped divis- 
ions ; it is bright green above 

and a trifle paler below in summer, and in autumn 
it changes to a rich bronze red. The acorn has a 
saucer-shaped cup with thin scales, and a round- 




broad 



Tin Oak. 



12 



166 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

ish nut barely half an inch in length. This oak is 
common on the borders of swamps and in low lands 
from Connecticnt westward to Missouri, and south- 
ward to the Potomac River, Virginia ; it also extends 
from central Kentucky to the eastern parts of Indian 
Territory. It is rare and small in New England, and 
reaches its finest development in the valley of the 
lower Ohio River. It grows 70 or 80 and in thick 
forests occasionally 120 feet high. The bark is light 
gray-brown, smoothish, and has small scales. The 
wood is reddish and coarse-grained. The pin oak gets 
its name from the pinlike appearance of the tiny 
branchlets which are set in the limbs and trunk. I 
know of no beautiful specimens of this tree in New 
England, excepting two comparatively youthful ones 
in the Arnold Arboretum, near the residence of Mr. 
Jackson Dawson; but in Flushing, L. L, in Fair- 
mount Park, Philadelphia,* and in Prospect Park, 
J3rooklyn,t there are quite a number of handsome 
and symmetrical large trees, which can not fail to 
attract attention. 

* In this park there is an avenue of beautiful pin oaks which, 
although they were planted as late as 1881, have already attained 
symmetrical proportions and an average height of 30 feet. The 
trunks are about a foot in diameter now, but when the trees were 
planted they measured about an inch and a half. 

f Prospect Park is particularly fortunate in the possession of 
many splendid large trees. In this respect it excels Central Park, 
New York. 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



167 



Spanish Oak. 

Quercus falcata. 



The Spanish oak is distinguished by 
its broad-ended, three- to five-divi- 
sioned leaf, which is always downy underneath and 
of a somewhat dull -green color above. 
The acorn has a saucer-shaped cup with 
a top-shaped base, and a round- 
ish nut with a bitter kernel ; 
it is nearly stemless. The tree 
grows from 40 to 70 feet high, 
and is found in dry or sandy 
soil from Long Island through 
New Jersey to Florida ; * west- 
ward it extends from southern 
Indiana and Illinois to Mis- 
souri and Texas. The bark is 
blackish brown and is deeply furrowed. It contains 
a large amount of tannin, and is therefore valued by 
the tanner. 

The Spanish oak and the four species preceding it 
complete the list of black and red oaks which are 
common. Their acorns require two years in which 
to ripen. 

Water Oak. ^he wa *er oak, as its name implies, is 
Quercus aquatica. found in wet situations. It grows 
from 30 to 40 and occasionally 80 




Spanish 



Quercus nigra. 



* It is also reported from Bucks County, Pa. 



168 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



feet high. In summer the leaf is a glossy, rich bottle- 
green, and in autumn it changes to a duller green, 
and remains that color well on into the 
winter. It is, in fact, partially ever- 
green. The acorn has a saucer- 
shaped cup, and a globular, downy 
nut with a very bitter kernel. 

The water oak is distributed 
from southern Delaware to 
Tampa Bay, Florida, and 
thence through the Gulf 
States to Texas. It also ex- 
tends from the centers of 
Kentucky and Tennessee 
to Missouri and Arkansas. 




Water Oak. 




. The bark is comparative- 
ly smooth, and light brown, 
with close scales. 

The leaves are 
variable, but I have 
drawn the common- 
est types. 



Black Jack or 



The black 



Barren Oak. J ac k r bar- 

Quercus nigra. ^ Qak ^ 

Quercus 

Marilandica. a singularly 

wedge-shaped, broad-ended leaf, 
Black jack oak. thick, dark shining green above, and 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



169 



yellowish and rusty colored below. In autumn it 
turns brown or brown-yellow. The acorn has a 
coarse-scaled, top-shaped cup which half covers the 
nut. It is nearly but not quite stemless. 

The black Jack oak is common in sandy barrens, 
and extends from Long Island southward to Tampa 
Bay, Florida, and westward to southeastern Nebraska 
and Texas, including portions of the intermediate 
country. It is a small tree, 20 to 
30 or rarely 50 feet high. 
Laurel or Shingle Oak. The laurel or 
Quercus imbricaria. shingle Oak 

grows from 30 to 60, and in low, 
rich grounds occasionally 100 feet 
high. Its leaf is similar to that 
of the laurel ; thick, stiff, dark 
green, smooth, and lustrous above, 
and pale green and downy below. 
In autumn it turns a rich, leather- 
red color. The acorn has a globu- 
lar nut and a thin cup with close- 
pressed scales. The kernel is bitter. Laurel oak. 
The bark is light brown, and has 
close, ruddy scales. The wood from an early date 
has been used in the making of shingles — hence the 
name " shingle oak." This species is commonly 
found in rich woodlands from Lehigh County, Pa., 




170 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




to Wisconsin, Missouri, and northeastern Kansas. It 

extends southward along the Alleghany Mountains 

to Georgia and Alabama, and also from Tennessee 

to northern Arkansas. Its largest growth is 

in the valley of the lower Ohio 

River. 

Willow Oak. The willow oak 

Quercus Phellos. (gQ to 80 feet 

high), so named because its leaves 
resemble those of the willow, is a 
beautiful tree which frequently 
shades the streets of Southern 
towns. The leaf is a brilliant light 
green above, and dull, pale green 
below. The tiny acorn has a sau- 
cer-shaped cup and a small globular nut. The ker- 
nel is orange-yellow and bitter. The stem is exceed- 
ingly short. 

This oak is found on the borders of swamps or in 
sandy, low woods, from Tottenville, Staten Island, 
"N. Y., to northeastern Florida. It is also distributed 
along the Gulf States to Texas, and extends from 
southern Kentucky through Tennessee to Arkansas 
and southeastern Missouri. 

The bark is reddish brown, and has close scales ; it 
is comparatively smooth. The willow oak is a beauti- 
ful shade tree, whose remarkable foliage lights up 



Willow Oak. 



THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 171 

prettily in the sunny South. Its small, leathery leaf 
remains green long after those of other trees are 
brown and sere. The tree has also the advantage of 
being a rapid grower. One of its most distinguished 
relatives, the English oak (Quercus Robur\ is hardly 
more interesting or beautiful. Certainly the contrast 
between these two trees of the same family could 
not be greater. There is hardly a point of resem- 
blance between them. The great aged oaks of Eng- 
land * are nursed and guarded with something like 
reverential awe. Their historical associations are 
cherished records. But the American willow oak is a 
tree without a history. Nevertheless, it is certainly a 
modern sylvan beauty, refreshingly novel, and decid- 
edly unconventional. 

The willow oak and the three species which pre- 
cede it complete the list of common leather-leaved 
oaks, some of which are nearly or quite evergreen in 
the South. 

* Some of these English oaks were planted about the time of 
the Norman conquest, 1066. Cowthrop oak, Cowthrop, Yorkshire, 
is seventy-eight feet in circuit at the ground, and is at least eight- 
een hundred years old. The Cowthrop oak is on the estate of 
Lord Petre ; it has a girth of sixty feet, and previous to the de- 
struction of its largest branch by a storm in 1718, it spread over 
half an acre. There is one in Dorsetshire said to be its equal in 
age, and one near Fountain Abbey, Ripon, in Yorkshire, is cer- 
tainly over twelve hundred years old. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. B. Edge divided. 

BUTTONWOOD AND LIQUIDAMBEB. 

The button wood, which is also com- 
Buttonwood or 

Sycamore, monly but quite * improperly called 
Piatanus sycamore, is a tall, ruggedly hand- 

occidentalis. . 

some tree, which sometimes attains a 
height of 150 feet. Gray calls it our largest tree, 
and Whittier has made it celebrated in his poem 
entitled The Sycamores. The Occidental plane trees 
— Hugh Tallant's sycamores, sung by the poet — 
were planted by the Irish pioneer in 1738, over a 
century and a half ago, beside the Merrimac River, 
where now stands the city of Haverhill, Mass.* Be- 
neath their shade, tradition says, Washington passed 
in his triumphal journey through the North in 1789, 

* Only two or three of these trees now remain standing ; they 
measure about six feet in trunk circumference. Formerly a long 
row of them adorned what is known as the Saltonstall estate. 

172 



BUTTONWOOD AND LIQUID AMBER. 173 

the year of his election to the presidency of the new 
nation ; and to this day, 

Still green and tall and stately, 
On the river's winding shores, 

surrounded by city sights and sounds, stand the old 
buttonwood trees.* 

Kentucky is the favorite home of the buttonwood, 
and in its rich soil the tree thrives far better than it 
does in the less fertile regions of the North. Beside 
the grave of Daniel Boone, in the cemetery at Frank- 
fort, stand several handsome trees which, although 
they are not very tall, possess ample and graceful 
proportions. 

I found in the village of Plymouth, E". H., two 
grand old specimens, which I have sketched ; these 
must be quite one hundred years old. Among the 
leaves which had fallen from the trees in October 
last were several handsome russet-colored specimens 
which measured ten inches in width. The leaves are 
boldly if not beautifully modeled, and have a fine 
leathery texture ; the few teeth which they possess 
are so large that the leaf really appears to have an 
undisturbed, entire edge. I remember, as a child, 



* It is said that under these trees, which form a green archway 
over the river road, Whittier conceived the plan of his poem, 
Skipper Ireson's Ride. 



174 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




BUTTON WOOD AND LIQUIDAMBER. 175 

several large sycamores on Washington Square in 
JSJew York, the hollow trunk of one of which was 
"the haunt of a gray squirrel, the pet of the police- 
man in charge of the park and of the children in 
the neighborhood ; but that particular tree has long 
since disappeared, and within a few feet of the 
spot where it stood is now the beautiful white 
marble Washington Arch. The bark of the button- 
wood has a peculiar way of peeling off each year in 
broad, thin, brittle scales ; this gives the trunk a re- 
markable patched effect in light buff and brown-gray 
color, quite sufficient for the complete identification 
of the tree. The fruit is a pretty little, round, but- 
tonlike ball, which hangs by its long, wiry stem 
swinging in the wind through the greater part of 
the winter. 

The buttonwood attains its greatest j)roportions 
in the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, 
where it is commonly seen over 80 feet high. Its 
wood is brownish, coarse-grained, and apt to crack ; it 
also decays rapidly if exposed to the weather ; never- 
theless, the grain of the wood is exceedingly beauti- 
ful, and shows itself to great advantage in the in- 
terior trimmings of a house. It is also used in the 
manufacture of cigar boxes. 

The Oriental plane tree {Platanus orientalis), 
sometimes planted in our parks, is very similar to 



176 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

the American variety, but its leaf is not as large 
and is more deeply cut ; its shape is very nearly 
like that of the sugar maple. This tree is not as 
hardy as the native variety. 

Liquidamber, The liquidamber, sometimes called 

Sweet Gum, or swee t gum, is one of the most mas;- 
Bilsted. „ ■ " A 5 

T . ., , nincent of our American trees. In 

Liqmclamoer 

styratiflua. the South it not infrequently reaches 
a height of 100 or even 140 feet. Its name is derived 
from liquidus (fluid) and the Arabic ambar (amber), 
in description of the yellow juice which exudes from 
the tree ; this has a fragrant, balsamic odor, which 
evidently accounts for the name sweet gum. The 
gum is used for medicinal purposes. 

The leaf of this tree is very regular and beautiful 
in shape as well as coloring ; in the fall of the year 
it assumes a golden-yellow tint, clouded over irregu- 
larly with a rich red ; in summer its green is deep, 
smooth, and shining ; it does not vary much from 
these hues. I might liken its shape to that of a star- 
fish, but with broad points and a one-sided radiation. 
The teeth are very fine and even, and the divisions 
vary from three to seven ; iive is the commonest 
number. The base of the leaf is, of course, heart- 
shaped, but sometimes it is flatter in effect than my 
sketch indicates. There is a little woolly tuft on the 
back of the leaf just where the ribs meet. 



BUTTONWOOD AND LIQUIDAMBER. 177 




178 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

The bark is brown-gray, and is seamed vertically ; 
the branches push out at almost right angles below 
(not so very far from the ground), and if these are 
examined it will be found that they are covered with 
strange, corky-looking ridges, reminding one of a fun- 
gous growth. In a warm climate the sweet-smelling 
gum is frequently noticeable on the bark, 
and by bruising the leaf the same spicy 
odor may be obtained. One is enabled 
to recognize the tree without difficul- 
ty by means of the leaf and the aro- 
matic sap. But this is not enough ; 
the liquidambar is deserving of our 
closest attention. From the con- 

Liquidamber ^ ventioiial and decorative seed- 
seed vessel. bftllj ffled with a 1()t of abortive geed 

(there are few good ones) fine as sawdust, to the wide 
expanse of the charmingly proportioned tree itself, it 
is beautiful in every way ; as a shade tree it has 
few rivals, and as an ornament for a park or private 
grounds it has no equal, unless it be the sugar maple. 
Both trees frequently assume a perfect egg-shaped 
outline, but in its leafy details I consider the liquid- 
ambar decoratively superior to the maple. The tree 
reaches its finest growth in the Mississippi Valley; 
it can rarely be found north of Connecticut, and it is 
commonest south of Baltimore and St. Louis. Curi- 




BUTTONWOOD AND LIQUIDAMBER. 179 

ously enough, although the liquidambar bears no re- 
semblance to the witch-hazel (Ilamamelis J / i?gini- 
ana), it belongs, with only two other member s, to the 
Witch -Hazel family. 



CIIAPTEK XIV. 

II. Sim^j. ^,posite Leaves. 

\. vViVhout tooth. A. Edge not divided. 

FLOWERING DOGWOOD, ETC. 

Flowering Dogwood. Tuu flowering dogwood is distin- 
Oorwmftorida. guished by apparent, large, dull- 
white flowers with four notched petals; but these 
are really bracts (leaflets) set around 
the cluster of true flowers in the 
center, which are greenish yel- 
low.* The leaves are from 
three to five inches 



long, and have in- 




dented whitish ribs 
ne p -:.j> tollowing the 
general curve of the 
edges ; they turn a ricl 
red in ° .,..mn. The bunches of ovoid, bright 



j tollowing the 

general 
Flowering Dogwood. 

edges ; they turn a rich 



* Tlioy bloom in Massachusetts in late May, and in Texas in 
March. 

180 



FLOWERING DOGWOOD, ETC. 181 

red berries are ripe in early autumn, when with the 
changing foliage they produce a very decorative 
effect on the tree. The flowering dogwood grows 
from 15 to 40 feet high, and is common in dry 
woods from southern New England to Florida, 
Texas, and southern Missouri. There are several 
beautiful though not large specimens in the Arnold 
Arboretum, where, with many other foreign species, 
they combine in making the roadsides gorgeous in 
October. 

Alternate-leaved The ver J name of tlie alternate- 
Dogwood, leaved ttogwood seems to imply that 

CornusaUemifoliu. ft k Qut of place here m my j^ 

classification. Eut this particular species is an ex- 
ception to the rule, and ought not to be separated 
from its relatives, as its general appearance also 
rather inclines one to think it opposite-leaved — look 
at my sketch ! The leaves really seem opposite, but 
they are not ; one stem grows independently just 
below the other, and not conjointly with it.* For 
the reverse of this arrangement look at the red maple, 
which very likely will be found growing beside the 
dogwood, convenient for comparison. The alternate- 
leaved dogwood has very beautiful, slender, coral-like 



* It occasionally happens, though, that the leaves do grow 
opposite. 

13 



182 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

red stems bearing pretty, dark, gray-blue berries, 
which are ripe in early October. The tree is com- 




Alternate-leaved Dogwood. 

mon beside the roads and on the banks of streams in 
the mountain regions of New Hampshire ; in fact, it 
is a familiar object in all the Northern States ; it also 
extends southward through the Alleghany Mountains 
as far as northern Georgia and Alabama. It is often- 
est found in shrub form, but frequently it grows to a 
height of 25 or even 30 feet. 



FLOWERING DOGWOOD, ETC. 183 

For the sake of comparison with the alternate- 
leaved variety, 1 draw a spray of red osier (Comus 




Red Osier Dogwood. 

stolonifera\ which is opposite-leaved. This charm- 
ing species is frequently a prominent object on the 
border of a snow-clad meadow in midwinter, when 
its bright-red twigs may be distinguished a mile 
away. It is merely a shrub, which grows only 6 



184: FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



feet high. Its foreign relative, the Siberian red- 
stemmed cornel (Comus alha), is another shrub or 
tree handsomely colored ; this variety is often f onnd 
in parks and gardens ; it has a white berry. 
Tartarian The Tartarian honeysuckle, although 

Honeysuckle, it does not belong to our country, has 
Lonicem Tartamca. b ecome p re tty firmly rooted in our 
parks and gardens. It often grows to the height of 
nearly 20 feet, and is occasional- 
ly trimmed into a treelike figure. 
There is just such a well-trained 
tree in the Public Garden, Bos- 
ton, which is very beautiful in its 
spring dress. The leaves are 
smooth and somewhat heart- 
shaped. The flowers grow in 
pairs, and are of a soft, magenta- 
pink color ; they bloom in May in great profusion. 
This honeysuckle comes from Asia. 

Fringe Tree. Tne fringe tree has a smooth, thick 
CMonanthus leaf, three to six inches long, which 

Virginica. resembles ^ of ^ magnolia< j t 

gets its name from x*>«>v, snow, and dv6o^ flower, in 
allusion to the snow-white flower clusters ; these hang 
in beautiful, loose, drooping tassels, which in early 
June give the tree a very ornamental appearance. 
The petals of the flower are narrow, and about an 




Tartarian 
Honeysuckle. 



FLOWERING DOGWOOD, ETC. 



185 



inch in length. The oval fruit is half an inch long, 

and pnrple covered with a bloom. The fringe tree 

grows from 8 to 30 feet 

high, and is commonly 

cultivated ; it is found 

wild along the river 

banks of New Jersey, 

south Pennsylvania, and 

the Southern States. 

_ , . The ca- 

Catalpa. 

Indian Bean. talpa, or In- 

CatalpaUgnonoides. (Ji an bean, 
Catalpa Catalpa. 

has a large, 
light - green, heart - shaped 
leaf, smooth above and downy 
below, especially on the ribs ; the stems are also 
woolly. The tree grows from 20 to 40 feet high, 
and has wide-spreading, coarse, stiff branches, with 
bark of a light buff-gray color. The trunk has 
dull, silver-gray bark slightly seamed up and down. 
The delicate, sweet-scented flowers are white, plen- 
tifully spotted with yellow and purple ; they appear 
in thick clusters in early summer.* 

The catalpa is common from New York city 
southward, and is cultivated as far north as Albany 




Fringe Tree. 



* It is said that honey collected from these flowers has poison- 
ous properties. 



186 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



and Boston; in fact, I know of several nourishing, 
good-sized specimens beside a hotel in the "White 

Mountain region of New 
Hampshire. The first tree 
of this species planted in 
New England stands on 
Washington 
Street, Hart- 
ford; it is over 
ninety years 
old.* The ca- 




Catalpa Leaf. 



talpa bean, I remember, long 
years ago was surreptitiously 
smoked by small boys ; wheth- 
er it is to-day or not I do not 
know, but the somewhat aro- 
matic smell of a smoldering 



* Vide Trees and Tree Planting, by General J. S. Brisbin. 



FLOWERING DOGWOOD, ETC. 187 

pod haunts one's memory, and it was vividly recalled 
to mine, bringing with it a long chain of old associ- 
ations, by a recent visit to an Italian cathedral in 
which incense had been bnrned. The pod is ten 
inches long, of a dull, light-brown color ; its seeds 
are winged and fringed (see the drawing at A). The 
tree is a rapid grower. 

Western Cataipa. The Western catalpa is a much larger 
Catalpa gpeeiosa. species ; it frequently attains a height 
of from 40 to 70 feet. Its leaf is similar to that of 
the other catalpa, but the two-inch-long nearly white 
flowers are pale-spotted, and the pod is coarse and 
thick. This tree is found growing wild in rich wood- 
lands in southern Indiana and immediately south and 
west. Gray says the catalpa is sometimes called 
Cigar Tree, from the alleged use of the ripe pods 
as cigars. The wood is grayish-white and suscep- 
tible of a high polish, but it is not in common use 
by cabinetmakers. 



CHAPTER XV. 



II. Simple Opposite Leaves. 

2. With teeth. A. Edge not divided. 

BURNING BUSH, ETC. 



Burning Bush. 
Wahoo. 

Evonymus* 

atropurpureus. 



The burning bush, sometimes called 
wahoo and spindle tree, is most fre- 
quently found in the form of a tall 
shrub ; but it is very often cultivated 
and trimmed so as to appear treelike. It sometimes 
attains an altitude of nearly 25 feet when 
circumstances are advantageous. The mi- 
nutely toothed leaves are about the 
color of those of the holly, but have 
a waxy finish ; they are from two to 
five inches long ; in autumn they turn 
pale yellow. The flowers, which ap- 
pear in June, have a four-parted ap- 
Bu waho(? ush pearance ; the rounded petals are deep 

* Also spelled Euonymus : from eS, good, and ovofia, name, 
because it has the bad reputation of poisoning cattle. — Gray. 

188 




BURNING BUSH, ETC. 189 

purple. The fruit, which ripens in October, is also 
four-parted, and hangs on long, slender stems ; it is 
half an inch broad, light magenta-purple in color, 
and imparts to the tree a very ornamental appear- 
ance in autumn. The burning bush grows wild 
from western JS T ew York to Wisconsin, Nebraska, 
Indian Territory, and southward to northern Florida. 
There is also a European burning bush (Evonymus 
Europwus), which is commonly seen in parks and 
gardens ; the fruit is similarly four-divided, but these 
divisions are somewhat flattened and angular ; its 
color is a soft, unvarnished crimson, with a singular 
touch of ruddy orange — certainly a very odd com- 
bination of color. This shrub also expands to large 
proportions under favorable conditions. There is a 
very pretty specimen, perhaps 15 feet high, in the 
Public Garden, Boston. The burning bush is easily 
identified by its singular four-sided crimson or ma- 
genta berries scarcely half an inch in diameter. It 
is rare, too, that one finds a red berry of a crimson 
hue and without a glossy surface. In this respect, 
therefore, the fruit of the burning bush is quite 
unique. I know of two beautiful but small speci- 
mens which grow beside an arbor in front of a hotel 
in the White Mountains, New Hampshire, where 
they are exposed to rigorous winter weather with 
the mercury frequently falling to 25° below zero. 



190 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Sweet Viburnum. Tne sweet viburnum has a smooth, 
Sheepberry. bright-green leaf about three or 
Viburnum Lentago. .£ our mcnes long, closely and sharp- 
ly toothed and sharp tipped; the rather long stem 
has a crinkly edge either side. Its ovate 
berry, blue-black in color with a bloom, 
ripens in autumn and is sweet and edi- 
ble ; it is about half an inch long, and 
is borne in red - stemmed clusters. 
The fine white flowers bloom in flat, 
broad clusters in May or June. The 
sweet viburnum is a small tree (it 
grows from 15 to 30 feet high), common 
in swamps, along streams, and in the 
woods, through a wide north- 
ern range extending all the way from 
Hudson Bay to northern Georgia and 
from the Atlantic States to south- 
western Missouri and eastern JSTebras- 
ka. 

Black Haw. The black haw is a 

Viburnum species of viburnum, 

prunifolium. ^^ obtuge _ pointed? 

dark - green leaves from one to two 
inches long ; the stems are not crinkly on the edges. 
The flowers and fruit are similar to those of the 
foregoing variety. The fruit is also edible. The 





Black Haw. 



BURNING BUSH, ETC. 



191 



black haw is a very small tree, from 15 to 30 feet 
high ; in the North it is of tenest a thickly branched 
shrub. It is common in 
dry soil or beside streams, 
and extends from south- 
western Connecticut 
westward to Missouri 
and Indian Territory, 
and southward to Florida 
and Texas. 



Arrow-wood. 

Viburnum dentatum. 




The arrow- 
wood gets 

its name from the fact that Arrow-wood. 

its stems were used by the Indians to make arrows. 
The leaves are altogether different from those of 
the two preceding varieties ; they are broadly ovate, 
sometimes slightly heart-shaped, light green, strongly 
straight-veined, and the very prominent, sharp teeth 
resemble those of a small circular saw. Its fruit, a 
quarter of an inch long, is rich purple-blue in color. 
The arrow- wood is a small tree, or oftenest a shrub, 
which wows from 5 to 15 feet high : it is common 
in wet places from Maine to Minnesota, and extends 
as far south as northern Georgia. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

II. Simple Opposite Leaves. 

2. With teeth. B. Edge divided. 

THE MAPLES. 

The maples are without doubt our handsomest 
trees in the largest sense of the word; no others 
can compare with them in the splendid coloring of 
their autumnal dress. What surprises our English 
cousins, on beholding for the first time a New Eng- 
land landscape in autumn, is the brilliancy of the 
foliage. More credit is due to the sugar and silver 
maples for this brilliant color than to all the rest 
of the trees put together. Scarlet in its purest 
tones, yellow in its clearest tints, golden orange with 
hardly a touch of rust — these are hues which the 
maples almost exclusively possess, and colors which 
are rarely seen in Old England. 

Exclusive of its noble proportions, symmetry, 

abundant foliage, and broad shadows, the autumnal 

coloring of the sugar maple entitles it to the first 

192 



THE MAPLES. 



193 




Mountain Maple. 



194 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

place in our estimation as a strikingly handsome 
American tree. But some of its near relatives are 
almost as beautiful ; not the least among these is the 
Mountain Maple, mountain maple, which oftener takes 
Acer sulcatum. the f 01111 of a tall shrub than it does 
that of a small tree. Its leaves are downy beneath ; 
they are divided into three parts (rarely five), and 
the teeth are rather coarse ; in autumn they turn a 
bright, deep, ruddy orange or red. Its spikelike 
clusters of greenish-yellow flowers appear in June. 
The seeds, with narrow wings diverging at an obtuse 
angle, are often a lovely tone of pale terra-cotta pink ; 
finally they turn red. The mountain maple is com- 
mon in the rich woods of the North, and among the 
mountains as far south as northern Georgia. It is 
most frequently found by shady roadsides or the 
banks of streamlets; its brown branches rarely rise 
over fifteen feet high, and as they have a common 
habit of growing in clumps, this maple is properly 
classed as a shrub; sometimes, however, it reaches 
a height of from 25 to 30 feet. 

The mountain maple may be distinguished from 
a young red maple by the erect flower clusters, and 
the undeveloped condition of the leaves, if the time is 
June ; later, by the three or five-divisioned leaves 
of soft texture and reflex curves, and also by the ab- 
sence of the red color which characterizes the twigs 



THE MAPLES. 



195 



Striped Maple. 

Acer Pennsylvanicum, 



of tlie red maple, and in the fall by the seeds whose 
brownish wings diverge at fully a right angle. 

The striped maple can be distin- 
guished at once (especially in win- 
ter) by its vertically striped bark, 
and large, three-pointed, goose-foot-shaped leaves, 
which measure &vq or six inches in length. 
The bark is smooth, greenish, and is 
with a sort of rust color sometimes 
dark. The leaves are very finely 
sharply double-toothed. Its flow- 
ers are greenish, and appear in 
May or June. The seeds have 
large, divergent, pale-green wings, 
and depend in long, graceful clus- 
ters. 

The tree is small and slender, nev- 
er reaching a height of over 35 or 
40 feet ; it is common throughout the 
North, but is merely a shrub 15 feet high, beside 
the shaded roads which pass through the White 
Mountain district of New Hampshire ; it reaches 
its greatest height in the Big Smoky Mountains in 
Tennessee, and extends no farther south than north- 
ern Georgia. I might call attention to this maple 
as having a leaf distinctly unlike those of its rela- 
tives ; it is so large, thin, and delicately if not softly 




196 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




THE MAPLES. 



197 



modeled, that one is impressed by its sharp contrast 
with the rugged leaf of the sugar maple, when 
the two are placed side by side. A comparison of 




Sugar Maple. 

my drawings will show how widely the leaves differ 

in character. 

14 



198 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Sugar or Rock Maple. V^e sugar or rock maple is the 

Acer sacdiarinum. grandest member of the family. It 

Acer Urbatum. sometimes reac hes a height of from 

100 to 120 feet. Its leaf is bold, and lacking in fine 
modeling, but that in no wise detracts 
from the symmetrical beauty of the 
dignified tree. The leaves generally 
have Hve divisions, the notches be- 
tween which are very rounded ; the teeth 
— if they can be called such, so very 
few and coarse are they — have blunt 
points. Compared with its " striped " 
relative, the sugar maple is a tree 
. _ =.. L with foliage of a decidedly rugged 
character. 
The greenish-yellow flowers of this maple droop 
from very slender, hairy stems ; they come in April 
or May, while the leaves are expanding. The wings 
of the seeds are about an inch long, and diverge 
something less than at a right angle; they are usu- 
ally of a beautiful, pale yellow-green ; the seed is 
ripe in September. The trunk is most frequently 
divided eight or ten feet from the ground into three 
or four stout, perpendicular branches. The leaf is 
smooth, dark green, and has an eggshell gloss ; in 
the autumn it regularly turns a clear straw yellow 
on some trees, and a variety of toned light reds on 



THE MAPLES. 199 

others ; not infrequently it assumes a golden or an 
orange tint.* The bark of a young tree is smooth 
and gray, but on very old specimens it becomes deep- 
ly furrowed, scaly, and assumes a dark, gray -brown 
hue. The wood is yellowish white, and is exten- 
sively used in cabinet work ; it is very hard.f 

t^There is no more interesting tree in the woods 
in March than our much-prized sugar maple. At 
this season the farmer taps the tree (with a three- 
quarter-inch auger) for the sweet sap which the 
warm sunshine draws upward from its roots; and 
while the snow is yet lying on the ground, the evi- 
dences of a spring awakening are shown by the tree 
in the ceaseless drip of its watery blood into a tin 
pail suspended at its side. When the sap runs well, 
usually when the sun has warmed the tree in the 
middle of the day, about seventy drops fall in the 
pail every minute ; it is a slow proceeding, but it 
continues relentlessly, until after three weeks or so 
the tree has yielded up its life blood to the extent 

* The turning of maple leaves to unvarying hues each autumn 
is quite remarkable. For years, two trees I know of have re- 
sumed exactly the same colors : one, russet orange above and 
dull scarlet below, and the other yellowish rust color ; even 
an individual branch will resume its own particular hue each 
fall. 

f The so-called bird's-eye maple and curled maple are rare 
conditions of the wood, caused by undulations or deflections of 
its fiber. 



200 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

of twenty-five gallons.* (A large orchard in Ver- 
mont or New Hampshire will yield, in a good season, 
one thousand pounds of sugar, besides one hundred 
gallons of sirup, without injury to the trees. f [in a 
small maple grove, which is near my summer home 
in the White Mountains, it has been my privilege to 
watch the effect of " tapping " on scores of trees 
for a period of twenty -five years — in fact, ever since 
childhood — and I can not say to-day that they seem 
to have lost any of their vigor ; yet many a farmer 
has told me that the process eventually kills the 
tree. This, I find by experience, is entirely depend- 
ent upon the treatment it receives. There is a 
sensitive if not a human quality in a maple which 
responds to kindness, and rewards the care-taker 
with an abundance of sugar without injury to its 
own life. There are, however, careless and igno- 
rant farmers who bore their trees in several places 
at once, or out of season, and as a consequence the 
exhausted trees die sooner or later, according to the 
measure of the abuse. To tap a tree in threatening 



* One gallon of sap yields about three ounces of sugar. Few 
trees yield more than thirty gallons of sap, if the tapping is properly 
done, so the average production of sugar from a single tree is about 
five and a half pounds; but in many instances the average, I 
find, does not rise over four and a quarter pounds. 

f On a large estate near Stamford, N. Y., the output of sugar 
in a season is five thousand pounds. 



THE MAPLES. 201 

or stormy weather, or before the temperate genial 
warmth which is usually brought by the south wind, 
is considered by some sugar-makers an ill-advised pro- 
ceeding ; the weather must be neither too hot nor too 
cold to obtain the best flow of sap. 

The methods employed to-day in the making of 
sugar are quite scientific compared with those in 
practice twenty years ago. A patent evaporator, 
with an infinite length of pipe through which the 
sap flows, * now takes the place of the long pan over 
the bricked-in log fire. Also, in place of the wooden 
tap or spout for the tree, a new galvanized iron one 
(which does not clog up the pores) is in common use. 
The sap is evaporated to a certain point in the pro- 
duction of sirup, and it passes through a process of 
still greater evaporation in the making of sugar, f 
In my own judgment, the sugar made by the old- 
fashioned, boiling-down method possesses the high- 



* The passage of sap through the pipes to the necessary point 
of evaporation is about two hours. There is also a partitioned 
pan now in use, the principle of which is similar to that of the 
evaporator. 

f One hundred eight-quart bucketfuls of sap are boiled about 
sixteen hours in the production of sirup, and about twenty hours 
in the production of sugar. The test is made by stirring and cool- 
ing some of the boiled sap in a saucer : if it granulates and adheres 
to the spoon and saucer the process is completed ; also, some of 
the sap is dropped on snow or ice, and if this becomes " like glass," 
the proper point is reached. 



202 FAMILIAR TEEES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



est and best flavor ; but in the market the super- 
refined, lighter-colored sugar made by the patent 
evaporators is of course considered much finer, and 
brings a higher price. The best sugar brings the 
'New Hampshire farmer rarely more than eight cents 
per pound, and the sirup about sixty cents per gal- 
lon. The retail prices even in country towns is 
frequently over fifty per cent in advance of these 
figures. 

Black Sugar Maple. Tne Dlack su gar maple is a variety 
Acer saccharirwm, of the common sugar maple, with 
no great distinguishing differences' 
excepting that the leaf is often fine- 
ly covered with down un- 
derneath ; it usually has 
three lobes (leaf divi- 
sions) which are wider, 
and freer of 



shorte] 



var. nigrum 
Acer ~barbatv.ni, 

var. nigrum 




teeth, and the 
sides of the 
clefts at 
the base 
of the leaf often 
Black sugar Maple. overlap. The bark 

of the tree has also a blackish color, and the seed 
wings, set wide apart, only slightly diverge. 



THE MAPLES. 



203 



Silver or White Maple. 

Acer dasycarpum. 



Acer saccJiarinurn. 

prettily divided 
and toothed, 
which could not 
possibly be con- 
fused with the 
leaves of the 
maples already de- 
scribed. It is distinct- 
ly silver - white be- 
neath and downy when 
young ; its live divisions 
are separated by deeply 
cut, sharp notches, and its 
teeth are very variable 
size. This tree should not 
be confused with the 1 
maple ; the latter 
has a leaf which 
is characteris- 
tically three - 
lobed — that is, 
it impresses one 
with its triple 
aspect, even 
though we often 



The silver or white maple has 
an extremely ornamental leaf, 




Silver Maple. 



204 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



find a specimen with five lobes. Compare my draw- 
ings, and this difference of type will at once become 
apparent. The flowers, which precede the leaves, are 
light yellowish-lavender ; the seeds follow some time 
in July ; their wings are large, and set at right an- 



gles. 



This maple I consider remarkable for its beau- 
tiful details ; its branches are long, spread- 
ing, and frequently droop enough to de- 
serve the term " weeping " — in fact, 
certain cut-leaved and weeping 
varieties are sold by the nurs- 
erymen. The silver maple 
is most common along river 
banks, and is found from 
Maine to western Florida ; 
westward it extends to the 
Dakotas and Indian Territo- 
ry. Its seeds, taking root in 
sandy river margins, quickly 
sprout, and before the sum- 
mer is done the budding leaves contribute a deli- 
cate ruddy tint to the monotonous buff of the sand. 
It is a curious fact that dying leaves are often stained 
with the same ruddy hues in which they appeared at 
birth. 

The silver maple grows to a height of from 90 to 




Cut-Leaf Silver Maple 



THE MAPLES. 



205 



120 feet, but commonly it does not exceed 50 feet. 

Its wood is soft, white, and of little value. 

Red or Swamp Maple. The red or swamp maple, a tree 

Acer rubrum. common in swamps and wet woods, 
rarely attains a height of over 50 
feet in the North, but sometimes 
measures 80 to 120 feet in the 
South. It may be distinguished 
by its reddish branches ; the twigs 
of very young trees are bright, 
dark red.* The leaf, as I have al- 
ready said, is characterized by three 
divisions, although one may fre- 
quently find specimens with the five 
points distinctly defined. The com- 
monest type of leaf will be seen in the drawing 
marked Type A. 

I conclude also to give another common type 
which may frequently be seen in very young trees ; 
this attenuated outline is confusingly near that of the 
mountain maple's leaf ; but in presenting this type I 
do so to call attention to the fact that Nature does 
not follow cast-iron rules, however we mistake the 
botanist's descriptions as such. What we choose to 




* The branchlets of the maples are apt to change color at dif- 
ferent seasons: the red maple is brightest red during the winter; 
in summer the twigs become brown red. 



206 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



call Nature's rules are really general principles char- 
acterized by a remarkable quality of elasticity. I 
have not yet found a botanist, to whom I had occa- 
sion to defer some difficult specimen, who did not 
preface his opinion with some reference to this elas- 
ticity. 'Now, in distinguishing the red from the 
mountain maple I should never rely wholly on 
a particular leaf. The flowers of 
the red maple much precede 
the leaves in early spring; 
twigs are red, not 
brown, as in the 



mountain maple ; 

the wings of the 

seeds only slightly 

Attenuated Leaf of Red Maple. diverge and the 

leaf is whitish underneath, free from the down which 
characterizes the other maple (except, perhaps, at the 
junction of the veins), and it turns bright, deep red 
or orange in autumn. 

The drawing of the long, narrow leaf was taken 
from a young tree which grows in the White Moun- 
tains ; that of the typical leaf was taken from an 
older tree in the Arnold Arboretum ; and that of 
the three-lobed leaf represents a specimen belong- 
ing to a large tree at Plymouth, N. H. 

The red maple is common throughout the North, 




THE MAPLES. 



207 



and extends southward to Florida and westward to the 

Dakotas and Texas ; it is one of the very earliest 

trees to blossom in the spring, when 

it assumes a ruddy hue by reason (\ 

of the red flowers ; in autumn 

its rich red foliage asriin dem- 

onstrates the right of 

the tree to its name ; 

even the hard wood has 

a reddish tinge at times, 

and with a " curled " grain 

it is considered peculiarly 

handsome in cabinet work. 

I have drawn a leaf of 
the beautiful Norway maple (Acer 
platanoicles) so that we may com- 
pare it with that of our own su- 
gar maple ; the shapes are very 
similar. Notice the extremely 
divergent seed wings which are 
characteristic of this tree. It is 
a handsome maple, very round 
in outline, and is easily distinguished by the milky 
juice which is best seen at the base of .the young 
leaf. It is becoming very common in our Eastern 
cities. My drawing was taken from a tree which 
grows in Roxbnry, Mass. Acer palmatum is a beau- 




Red Maple. 
Three lobed leaf. 



208 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



tiful dwarf variety of the maple which comes from 
Japan ; it is not infrequently seen in onr city parks. 
The leaves of some of these Japanese maples are so 

slashed and rent that they 




like a fringe from 



twigs. 



Acer ma- 
ojpliyllam is a Cali- 
f ornian species, with 
a huge leaf 
eight to twelve 
inches broad, 
and yellow, fra- 
grant flowers 
which bloom after the 
leaves have expanded. 
The tree is very large, 
sometimes reaching a 
height of 100 feet. It 
is not hardy 
north of 40° 
north latitude. 
For ash- 
leaved maple {Acer negunclo) see Chapter XIX. 



ft 

■y 
Norway Maple. 



CHAPTEE XYIL 

m. Compound Alternate Leaves. 

1. Without teeth. Leaflets bordering main leaf stem. 

THE AILANTUS AND LOCUSTS. 

Ailantus. The ailantus,* familiar to us all 

Ailanthus glanduiosiis. through its greenish flower elus- 

Ailanthus glandirtosa. - . 1 

ters, which have such an offensive 
odor in the balmy days of June, comes from China, 
and is called there " The Tree of Heaven " ! For- 
tunately, not all the trees are disagreeable, as some 
do not bear the ill-smelling, sterile (staminate) flowers. 
The ailantus was first brought into the United 
States by Mr. William Hamilton in 1784, and a 
sucker from the original tree, planted in 1809, de- 
veloped to large proportions, now stands in the Bar- 
tram Botanic Garden. In 1820 Mr. William Prince, 
of Flushing, L. L, imported the ailantus from 
Europe, and from this stock most of the trees 

* ' Commonly, but improperly, spelled ailanthus." — Webster. 
But I do not interfere with the spelling of the established botan- 
ical names. 

209 




Ailautus. 



THE AIL ANT US AND LOCUSTS. 211 

around New York have originated. (In Washing- 
ton Square and its vicinity during the "sixties" 
there were innumerable trees, which eventually 
became so offensive because of their odor and lia- 
bility to be attacked by the abominable brown 
" inch - worm " * that most of them were cut 
down. 

But the tree in appearance is very graceful; its 
compound leaves have stems frequently measuring 
three feet in length ; the base of the stem where it 
joins the branch is swollen so that it resembles in 
shape a miniature horse's hoof. The leaflet is sharp- 
pointed, and has two or more singular dull teeth at 
the base. The winged seed clusters, which somewhat 
remind one of seaweed, are often beautifully pink- 
tinged, but generally pale green. The tree is in- 
clined to spread from seed, and in rubbish heaps 
and the cracks and crannies of areas around old 
city houses we may frequently see its youthful, 
fuzzy, light-brown stem and a cluster of graceful 
leaflets. The tree is distinguished in the absence 
of its leafage by its coarse, blunt twigs ; these do 
not possess the delicacy which characterizes those of 
most other trees. 



* I believe the advent into this country of the English sparrow 
put an end to the " inch- worm " years ago. 



212 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Yellowwood. The yellowwood is rather a rare tree, 
Cladrastis tinctoria. reaching a height of about 40 feet, 

Cladrastis lutea. ^^ yeUowish wood> smootll bapk 

resembling that of the beech, long, beautiful, light- 
green leaflets, and 
delicately fragrant, 
cream-white flowers 
which bloom in 
June ; these hang in 
graceful clusters a 
foot or more in length. 
The pods, which are 
two inches long, 
are ripe in the 
latter part of Au- 
gust. The tree 
is found wild in Kentucky 
and Tennessee, but is a 
much more familiar object 
in parks and gardens. Its re- 
semblance to the locust bespeaks 
a close relationship with the lat- 
ter tree. There is a beautiful specimen of this tree 
at Dosoris, L. L, and another in the Phoenix Nurs- 
ery, Bloomington, 111. 

One of the most beautiful and symmetrical yellow- 
wood trees I have ever seen is on the grounds of the 




Yellowwood. 



THE AILANTUS AND LOCUSTS. 



213 



late Andrew S. Fuller, at Ridgewood, ~N. J. ; it was 
his favorite tree, and is 45 feet high. 

Locust. The common locust has a pretty leaf 

BobiniaPseudacacia. spray of from nine to twenty-three 
roundish long leaflets which are devoid of teeth. Its 
twigs are not sticky — that is the most impor- 
tant thing to remember about it. Its fra- 
grant white flowers, shaped like pea-blos- 
soms, hang in loose clusters from the 
sides of the branchlets in late spring 
or early summer. The flat pods, 
about two or three inches long, 
are smooth, of a purplish-brown 
color, and are ripe in September. 
The tree is slender in figure, and 
reaches a height of from 35 to 80 
feet, according to its situation and 
circumstances. Its exceedingly hard and durable 
wood has a yellowish color and smooth grain ; it is 
used for posts and exterior construction intended to 
withstand dampness. The tree is common through- 
out the eastern United States. 
Clammy Locust. The clammy locust differs from the 
Robinia viscosa. common locust in the following par- 
ticulars : the tree is never over 40 feet high, its dark- 
brown twigs are very sticky, and its rather upright 

flower cluster is a trifle pinkish, and nearly if not 

15 




Locust. 
Eobinia Pseudacacia. 



214 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Clammy Locust. 



quite without perfume. The tree is found in the 
mountains from Virginia to Georgia, and in the 
North, where it is common in cultivation, it has 



THE AILANTUS AND LOCUSTS. 



215 



frequently escaped to roadsides and the borders of 
fields. I find it quite common in Campton, N. H., 
on either side of a road which passes a large ceme- 
tery, where there are several handsome trees over 35 
feet in height. 

Kentucky Coffee Tree. The Kentucky coffee tree is tall, 
Gymnodadus anc [ ] iag coarse "b ar k extending over 

Canadensis. 

Gymnodadus dioicus. the limbs, stout branchlets like the 
ailantus, and leaves which are unequally twice-com- 
pound ; the leaflets are 
rather broad and 
sharp-pointed. This 
doubling up of the 
compound character 
of the leaves is the 
sure means by which 
we may recognize 
the tree. My sketch, 
somewhat convention- 
al in arrangement, 
reveals the leaf sys- 
tem at a glance. The 
whole spray is from 
two to three feet long ; the leaflets are without teeth, 
and are dull, dark green. The brown, curved pods 
are two inches broad, and from six to ten inches long ; 
they contain hard, gray seeds half an inch in diame- 




Kentucky Coffee Tree. 
Portion of double compound leaf. 



216 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

ter, which, are ripe in October. The tree grows from 
45 to 80 and occasionally 110 feet high, and has few 
branches. In the South its seeds were at one time 
used as a substitute for coffee. In the Public Garden, 
Boston, not far from the path leading to Newbury 
Street, there is a very handsomely proportioned but 
rather small specimen perhaps 40 feet tall. The 
Kentucky coffee tree is a native of rich woods, and 
is common from western New York to Minnesota 
and Arkansas. 

Honey Locust. Tlie hone J locUst is a ^ ee Wnich 
GleditscUa boys do not care to climb, for an 

triacantJws. ^ v i ous reason ; its murderous-look- 
ing thorns, which grow on the trunk in formidable 
bunches, are altogether too threatening for the average 
juvenile climber. The leaves are sometimes twice 
compound, but not very often ; they suggest a sort 
of toothed edge, but so indistinctly that the fact 
would escape notice unless the leaflet was subjected 
to close scrutiny. The inconspicuous and greenish- 
colored flowers appear in short spikes in early sum- 
mer ; the long, red -brown, straplike, twisted pods 
ripen in late autumn, and contain most remarkably 
hard, shiny brown, flattened seeds ; the pod is filled 
between the seeds with a greenish -yellow, sweet pulpr 
much relished by the " small boy," who respects the. 
tree's defenses, and waits for the fruit to drop. 



THE AILANTUS AND LOCUSTS. 



217 




Hone}' Locust. 



218 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

The tree is very large, and with its graceful, fine 
foliage presents a handsome appearance in midsum- 
mer. Along the river banks of Illinois it frequently 
attains an altitude of from 80 to 90 feet.* It is a 
quite rapid grower, and a seedling will reach a height 
of 18 or more feet in ten years. In the North the 
leaves unfold about the middle of May. 

The honey locust grows wild from Pennsylvania 
southward to northern Alabama and Texas and west- 
ward to eastern Nebraska. There are two varieties 
frequently found in parks and gardens : var. inermis, 
without thorns, and var. Bujotii pendula, with ex- 
ceedingly graceful, drooping foliage. 

Water Locust. The water locust is a much smaller 
GUditschia aquatica. tree than the honey locust, but its 
general character is the same ; it usually attains a 
height of 30 feet, and rarely 50 or 60 feet. Com- 
pared with the other locusts its leaflets are smaller, 
its thorns are less branched and more slender, and 
the pod is very short (two inches long), rounded, and 
contains rarely more than one seed, and no sweet 
pulp. It is found in the swamps of southern Illinois 
and Indiana and southward, but is frequently planted 
in the North for ornament. 



* Prof. Sargent records its maximum height at 140 feet. 






CHAPTEK XVIII. 

III. Compound Alternate Leaves. 

2. With teeth. Leaflets bordering main leaf stem. 

THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 

Stag-horn Sumach. The stag-horn sumach is a rugged- 
Bhus typhina. looking shrub or tree from 10 to 30 
and occasionally 40 feet high, with milky juice and 
remarkably ruddy, velvety twigs and branches, by 
means of which it may readily be identified. Notice 
how the beautiful compound leaves (composed of 
from eleven to thirty-one leaflets, very pale beneath) 
are gracefully set around the smaller branches so that 
each is out of its neighbor's way and does not ob- 
struct sunlight ; they change from & lively light green 
in August to a most beautiful scarlet red in Se23tem- 
ber. The pyramidal fruit cluster reveals a curious, 
red-haired character under the magnifying glass, and 
its effective red -maroon patch of color gives the tree 
a most picturesque appearance in later summer. The 

graceful, drooping effect of the leaflets, and the bold, 

219 



220 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



tortuous ramifications of the upper branches place the 
tree in sharp contrast with its surroundings ; it grows 
beside almost every road in the 
Northern States, and extends south- 
ward along the Alle- 
ghany Mountains to Al- 
abama. In autumn I 
know of no other tree 
which clothes itself 
in a color so near- 
ly approaching 
pure scarlet, and 
there is no wood 
of any other tree 
which seems to 
me quite so 
green - yellow. 
Gray calls it or- 
ange-colored, but 
it is rather that 
23eculiar citron hue 
which may be pro- 
duced by mixing or- 
ange and green ; a 
daub of this color from 
my paint brush exactly 
stag-horn Sumach, matches the wood, but anoth- 




THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 221 

er of orange cadmium is in strong contrast with it. 
In the CatsMll Mountains sumach wood is used by 
the turners in making- walking sticks, boxes, and a 
variety of ornamental knickknacks. It is a pity the 
tree does not grow sufficiently large to furnish wood 
available for cabinet work. 

The stag-horn sumach, common throughout the 
North (its southern limit is northern Georgia), is too 
familiar an object on our byways and hillsides to 
need any leaf description here, and I would rather 
call attention to it as one of our most beautiful, 
picturesque, but unappreciated roadside characters, 
whose brilliant coloring in autumn is unexcelled 
even by the maple. We must not confuse it with 
the vicious poison sumach {Rhus venenata)* whose 
leaflet is without teeth, and whose fruit is a greenish- 
white berry about the size of a pea. 

The smoke tree (Rhus cotinoides) f is a small tree 
from 25 to 40 feet high, which is a near relative of 
the sumach, but which is quite out of place here in 
this division of my leaf classification, for it has a 
simple, plain-edged leaf, oval, thin, and smooth, or 
nearly so ; it measures from three to six inches in 
length. Usually most of the flowers are abortive, 

* Also called Bhus tie-mix. — C. S. Sargent. 

f Also called Cotinus Americana. — C. IS. Sargent. 



222 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Mountain Ash. 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 223 

while their stems lengthen, branch, and bear long, 
plumy hairs, making large, light, and feathery or 
cloudlike bunches, either greenish gray or ruddy 
tinged.* The smoke tree grows wild from Missouri 
and Tennessee southward. It is rarely cultivated. 
Mountain Ash. The beautiful mountain ash f — which 
Pyrus Americana. ig ? of course, no ash at all, but a 
charming relative of the apple and pear — has a con- 
ventional, compound leaf, which would lead one to 
suppose (if superficial appearances counted for any- 
thing) that it was related to the sumach. This is not 
the case, however, and a comparison of the charac- 
ters of the two plants shows wide differences. The 
sharply toothed leaflets, thirteen to seventeen on a 
stem, are nearly if not perfectly smooth, as well as 
the stem itself and the branchlets. The berries are 
bright red, about the size of peas, and they appear 
in their richest coloring, great flat clusters of them, 
in the latter part of September. They remain on 
the branches into the winter. The grooved leaf stem 
in the early autumn often assumes a bright-red hue, 
and the trunk bark is a dull, raw umber brown ; 
when it is cut or bruised it smells like that of 
the wild black cherry — not so surprising, in view 

* Vide Field, Forest, and Garden Botany, Gray, 
f Sometimes called the rowan tree. 



224 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

of the fact that the latter tree is a family rela- 
tion. 

This slender and graceful tree, which grows from 
15 to 30 feet high, is common in swamps and cold 
mountain woods throughout the Northern States from 
Maine to Minnesota ; southward it follows the Alle- 
ghany Mountains to North Carolina. It is very 
frequently seen in the vicinity of Lake George, and 
on the higher peaks of the White Mountains, and 
I found it at every step beside the steep path 
which ascends Mount Cannon, in the Franconia 
Notch. In the struggle for existence at an alti- 
tude of three thousand five hundred feet it did 
not attain a height of over 4 feet. The elder- 
leaved mountain ash (Pyrus sambucifolia), found 
also in the higher mountains of the northern part 
of New England and westward to Lake Superior, 
has more obtuse and abruptly sharp-pointed leaves, 
usually double-toothed. The berries are larger but the 
clusters are smaller than those of the other variety. 

Butternut. The butternut, sometimes called oil 
Jugians dnerea. nut, is very common in New Eng- 
land and the extreme Northern States ; it extends 
westward to the eastern Dakotas, eastern Nebraska, and 
northeastern Arkansas, and southward to Delaware 
and through the Alleghany Mountains to Georgia. 
I can hardly call it a beautiful tree, as its foliage is 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 225 



sparse, its rough, gray limbs are scraggy, and its 
figure lacks symmetry. It grows from 30 to 50 and 
occasionally 100 feet high. In 
the pasture lands among the 
hills of New Hampshire it fre- 
quently attains a tall, broad, 
and imposing figure, which is 
often unfortunately 
marred by gaunt, dead x^gg 
branches. 

The compound 
leaves are composed of from 
nine to seventeen leaflets, 




which are rather un- 
evenly toothed and 
fuzzy - stemmed ; the 
base of the stem is 
conspicuously horse- 
hoof-shaped. In the early 
part of the season the 
branchlets are very fuzzy 
and sticky. / The fruit, 
two to three inches 
long, is at first 
downy, green, and Butternut, 

sticky ; on being 
bruised it stains the fingers a deep yellow. The nut 




226 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

is ripe in October, when the husk is black brown ; it 

is sharply rough, and the kernel, greatly relished by 

the squirrels, is sweet but very oily. 

The butternut is one of the first trees to lose its 

leaves in the fall. After a heavy night frost in early 
October, on the following 
morning one will see the 
leaves, stem and all, silently 
drop one after another, until 

Butternut in husk. ^ the courge q£ ^ ^ ^ 

branches are almost completely stripped of their fo- 
liage. The leaves turn a bright yellow not long be- 
fore they fall. In summer the general effect of the 
tree is yellowish green, and in spring the late-arriv- 
ing, green-yellow, budding leaves combine with the 
gray bark of the branches in forming a most pe- 
culiar but beautiful combination of color.* The 
hard, strong-grained, beautiful, light yellow-brown 
wood makes a handsome interior finish, and is highly 
esteemed by the cabinetmaker. 
Black Walnut. The black walnut is esteemed so 
Jugians nigra. highly f or its rich, dark-brown wood, 
that in recent years woodcutters have made it very 
scarce. It is claimed that one hundred years are re- 

* In March the tree is often tapped with the sugar maple, but 
I know nothing of the quality of the sugar which is made. I am 
told that it has some medicinal properties. 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 227 



quired for this tree (in the forest) to attain a suffi- 
cient size to make it valuable for timber ; yet in 
twenty-five years' time its destruction has steadily 
proceeded until it has been almost exterminated in 
the Mississippi basin, and vast tracts of forest land 
have been bereft of 
nearly every speci- 
men considered val- 
uable for its tim- 
ber. I am told by 
a gentleman who is 
connected with the 
lumber interest of 
this country that in- 
dividual valuable trees 
are bought " on the 
stump" by the lum- 
ber companies in all 
accessible forest re- 
gions. 

The black walnut 
is found from western Massachusetts to central Ne- 
braska and eastern Kansas, and it extends southward 
to western Florida and Texas. It was once very 
plentiful in the forest regions west of the Alleghany 
Mountains, where it attained its largest growth. 
There are a few large specimens in Massachusetts, 




Black Walnut, portion of leaves. 



228 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

one of which, at West Medford, has a trunk cir- 
cumference of about fourteen feet at five feet above 
the ground ; another, at Saugus (Centre Tillage), 
measures 60 feet in height. 

The compound leaf is composed of from fifteen to 
twenty-three sharp-toothed leaflets on a stem (with- 
out the horse-hoof base) which measures one to two 
feet in length. The leaf* is thin, bright yellow 
green above and somewhat downy beneath ; it turns 
yellow in autumn. The splendid, large fruit is 
rough, dull green, and generally round ; it has a 
pleasant, aromatic odor. The nut, after the ripened 
blackish husk is removed, reveals a dark -brown, 
sharply cut, rough, hard shell ; the kernel has a 
delicate but decided flavor. 

The English walnut {Juglans regia) is sparingly 
cultivated in this country, but it is barely hardy in 
the North. It has from five to nine ovate, pointed, 
unevenly toothed leaflets which crowd the stem, and 
a thin-shelled nut which the husk, becoming brittle 
and open, soon sheds. The nut is the common Ma- 
deira nut of commerce. The tree grows from 35 to 
60 feet high. 

* I am told that in Bucks County, Pa., the leaves are often 
stripped from the tree by caterpillars ; in the White Mountains 
the trees are remarkably free from them ; probably a winter 
temperature of 30° below zero is a trifle too strong for some 
worms. 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 229 

„. , „. , , The hickory, sometimes called 

Hickory or Shagbark. ■ J -"* s «/' 

Caryaaiba. shagbark or shellbark, is a tall, 

Hicoria ovata. spreadin g tree 70 to 90 and occa- 
sionally, in the forest, 120 feet high. It usually has a 
straight trunk with gray bark loosely attached, which 
hangs in strips nearly a foot long and six inches wide ; 
the ends of these strips frequently curve away from 
the trunk, and give it the rugged appearance which 
accounts for the name " shagbark." The younger 
branches . are smooth and light gray. As a rule, 
there are but five sharp-toothed leaflets on a stem 
(sometimes there are seven), and these are from four 
to eight inches long ; they are rather thin, and dark 
yellowish green; the leaf stem is rough, and some- 
what enlarged at the base. The fruit, which is ripe 
in October, has a thick, hard husk, which splits into 
four separate sections ; the whitish nut, slightly flat- 
tened at the sides, has a thin wall, and a large, sweet 
kernel which I consider superior in flavor to any 
other American nut. 

This hickory is the commonest of the species in 
the North ; it extends from Maine to central Minne- 
sota and southeastern Nebraska ; southward it fol- 
lows along the Alleghany Mountains (on their west- 
ern slopes, and in the Ohio basin it attains its largest 
size), and reaches its limit in western Florida and 
Texas. 

16 



230 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Shagbark Hickory. 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 231 



The brownish-white wood is exceedingly tough 
and hard, and is much used in the manufacture of 
carriages, agricultural implements, axe handles, and 
farm wagons. The handsome, clear green foliage 
and the symmetrical proportions of the shagbark 
hickory make it an impressive tree of exceptional 
beauty. There is a most stately and picturesque 
tree, over 50 feet "high, on the land of Mr. Augustus 
Fowler, at Danvers, Mass. 
Big Shellbark. The bi g shellbark differs from the 
Carya sulcata. f oregoing species in the f ol 

Hicoria laciniosa. \ ow ' mg particulars \ 

There are usually seven leaflets 
(sometimes there are nine) which 
are more downy and of a bronze- 
green hue beneath ; above, they 
seem to me to be a deeper green. 
The young branchlets are somewhat 
orange-colored. The nut is much 
larger (from an inch and a quarter 
to nearly two inches long), and it 
is usually pointed at both ends. 
The strips of bark are narrower. 
This hickory is rather rare and lo- 
cal, and extends from Bucks Coun- 
ty, Pa., and central New York 
westward to Missouri and Indian Territory. 




Big Shellbark, a leaflet: 
nut showing sharp 
point at the base. 



232 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Mockemut. ^ ne niockernut is a tall, slender tree 
Carya tomentosa. from 70 to 100 feet high, with light 
gray, close bark which does not scale 
off. There are from seven to nine blunt- toothed 
leaflets on a stem, which are deep yellow green 
above and somewhat paler and rough 
downy below; they are very fragrant 
when bruised. The large, thick- 
shelled, brownish nut has a thick 
husk which splits nearly to the base 
when it is ripe ; the kernel is small 
and indifferently flavored. Probably 
the tree gets its name from the out- 
ward promise of the nut, which the 
small kernel fails to fulfill. 

The mockernut is found on ridges 
and hillsides from New England south- 
ward to Florida and Texas ; westward 
it extends to eastern Kansas and In- 
dian Territory ; it is common in the South, but 
rather local and rare in the North. 

Pignut. ^ ne pig nu t, sometimes called broom 

Carya pordna. hickory,* is a gracefully proportioned 

Hicoria glabra. tree from 60 to qq and occas ionally 




Mockernut in husk 
and a leaflet. 



* It is said that the early settlers used the wood split into thin, 
narrow strips for brooms. 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 233 




Pignut 



234 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

120 feet high. Its sharp-toothed leaflets grow from 
five to nine on a stem (usually seven, and rarely 
nine) ; they are smooth above and below, but some- 
times tufts of pale hairs will be discovered at the 
angles of the ribs ; the leaf color is a rich, deep, yel- 
low green. The fruit has a very thin husk, and is 
somewhat pear-shaped or else oval; the husk often 
splits open only at the apex, and falls with the nut to 
the ground. The kernel is at first sweet, then after- 
ward bitter. The fruit from which my drawing was 
made measured scarcely one inch in length ; not in- 
frequently, however, larger specimens are found.* 

The pignut is distributed from Maine to south- 
eastern Nebraska, southward to Florida, and along 
the Gulf States to Kansas and Texas. It is very 
common on hillsides and dry ridges in all the North- 
ern States. 
Small-fruit Hickory. The small- fruit hickory bears a small 

Garyamicrocarpa. nnt ^^ a t ^ n ^^ w hi C h Splits 

Hicoria glabra., 

var. odorata. open nearly to the base ; the smooth- 
shelled nut is roundish and free from angles ; in 
some instances it is hardly more than half an inch 
deep. The kernel is very sweet. 

There are usually five (often seven) leaflets on a 

* In the Silva of North America, Prof. Sargent says Hicoria 
glabra varies more in the size and shape of its fruit than any other 
of the hickories. 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 235 



stem; they are fine-toothed, and very smooth above 
and below, except that the angles of the ribs are 
apt to be a trifle fuzzy. This hickory (considered 
by Prof. Sargent a variety of the foregoing species) 
grows from 60 to 90 feet high, and is found from 
eastern Massachusetts to Delaware, and from New 
York westward to central Michigan, southern Illi- 
nois, and Missouri. The bark is somewhat shaggy 
but separates in narrow, thin plates. 

The bitternut, or swamp hickory, is 
Bitternut, or ' . 

Swamp Hickory, a large tree with spreading hmbs, 

Carya arnara. which is found in low, Wet Woods 

Hicoria minima. 

and swamps; it grows from 50 to 
75 and occasionally 100 feet 
high. There are from seven 
to eleven narrow leaflets on 
a slender stem ; these are 
smooth on both sides, or very 
slightly downy beneath, es- 
pecially when young. The 
fruit is roundish, and the rath- 
er soft, thin husk separates 
down to about the middle ; the 
thin-shelled, whitish nut is de- 
pressed at the top, and has an 
extremely bitter kernel, which was at first sweet. 
The husk and nutshell are thinner than those of the 




Bitternut, portion of leaf. 



23G FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



other species, and they may be broken with a very 
slight blow. 

The swamp hickory is distributed from Maine to 
Minnesota and southeastern Nebraska ; southward it 
extends to Florida and eastern Texas. The bark of 
the trunk is rather smooth and close. 

Pecan Nut. ^ ne P ecan nu * i s a Southern species 

Carya olivceformis. of hickory, which grows from 80 to 
Eicoria pecan. 100 and occasionaOly 170 feet high. 
There are from nine to fifteen leaflets on a stem ; 
these are finely toothed and slender-pointed, 
and of a warm, deep yellow-green color. 
The fruit, about an inch and a half long, 
has a thin, yellow-haired husk which 
splits in four sections nearly to the base, 
and, discharging the nut, not infre- 
quently remains on the branch through 
the winter. The smooth, thin-shelled ) 
nut has a very sweet kernel, and is 
considered by many the best flavored 
of all nuts, native or foreign. 

The tree is a rapid grower, and it 
will produce a small amount of fruit at the end of 
its eighth or tenth year. It is the largest of the 
hickory trees, and grows in rich soil in the neigh- 
borhood of streams from Iowa, southern Illinois and 
Indiana to Louisiana and Texas ; it also extends into 




Pecan Leaflet. 



THE SUMACH, WALNUTS, HICKORIES, ETC. 237 



central Mississippi and Alabama. Most 
of the nuts in the market come from 
Texas, but of late years orchards of se- 
lected varieties of the pecan nut have 
been planted in many of the Southern 
States.* It is one of the most impos- 
ing and beautiful trees of the South. 




Pecan nut in 
husk. 



* Vide Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

Compound Opposite Leaves. 

With or without teeth. Leaflets bordering main leaf stem. 

THE ASH-LEAVED MAPLE AND THE ASHES. 

There are odd trees as well as odd people in the 
world, whose characters are problems somewhat dif- 
ficult of solution. A man can tell who he is, but a 
tree only reveals its individuality by certain little dif- 
ferences which distinguish it from others of its kind. 
"When these diff erences assume a contradictory aspect, 
we are put to some confusion. " From your speech," 
said one traveler to another, guessing at the latter's 
nationality, " I judge you are an Englishman ; from 
your carriage and quickness of perception, I imagine 
you are an American; but your physiognomy be- 
speaks a German nationality." " Not right," said 
the other ; " for my mother was Dutch, I was born 
in Paris, reared and educated in Boston, and the last 
three years of my life have been spent in London." 
One of the maples is quite as problematic in its out- 
side appearance. 



THE ASH-LEAVED MAPLE AND THE ASHES. 239 

Where or how the ash-leaved maple 
Ash-leaved Maple r 

or Box Elder. spent the first years of its existence 

Negundo aceroides. nobody knows. The tree can not 

Acer negundo. . ., .. 

account lor itself, but that it has 
puzzled more than one botanist its various names 
assuredly testify. Some one has thought it looked 
sufficiently like the elder to name it box elder.* 
Another has seen the strong resemblance of its foli- 
age to that of the ash, and named it ash-leaved maple : 
and, finally, Prof. Sargent (following Michaux' s initia- 
tive) has sifted the qualifying aceroides down to plain 
Acer f — a common-sensible conclusion, it seems to 
me, if one will look at the perfectly plain family 
signature, the double- winged seed.J " By their fruits 
ye shall know them." This really ought to be the 
text of one who is in search of the real character of a 
tree ; we can tell a great deal about that by the 
leaves, but when there is a shadow of doubt we must 
turn to the fruit. The leaf of the ash-leaved maple 
has three or five slightly rough, strong-ribbed leaflets, 
the outer edges of which are irregularly and coarsely 



* Michaux says this name was commonly used in the Carolinas, 
so he adopted it also, although it was without any particular sig- 
nificance. 

f Which is the name given by the younger Michaux. 

\ My expressed opinion is, perhaps, presumptuous ; it is sim- 
ply a case of ipse dixit ! Many of the botanists believe that 
Negundo acer.oides is essentially different from the genus Acer. 



240 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



toothed. The fruit ripens in early summer, and hangs 
in graceful yellowish-green clusters from six to eight 
inches long. The newer twigs are 
a beautiful pea 
green. 

This tree is 

found from 

the Winooski 



River, Vt., 
and the Ver- 
mont shore of 
Lake Champlain to 
Cayuga Lake, N. Y. 
Southward it extends 
through eastern Penn- 
sylvania to Florida, 
and westward to the 
Rocky Mountains in 
Montana, the Wah- 
satch Mountains in 
Utah, and western Texas. 
The ash-leaved maple is a handsome, rapidly grow- 
ing tree with wide-spreading branches, which some- 
times reaches a height of 70 feet ; usually it is 
from 30 to 50 feet high. The foliage is deep green 
and very ornamental. It is said to be not long- 
lived, as it arrives at maturity in fifteen or twenty 




Ash-leaved Maple. 



THE ASH-LEAVED MAPLE AND THE ASHES. 241 

years.* There are specimens of this tree on the 
Schuylkill River and in the vicinity of Philadelphia 
which measure 50 feet in height, and have a trunk 
circumference of four feet. 

White Ash. The white ash is one of the no- 

Fraxinus Americana. ^ est f our f ores t trees, and One 

which is second only to the oak in value for its 
timber. This stately tree measures 60 or 70 and 
sometimes 100 or 120 feet in height. In the forest 
its rather slim upright branches usually reach far 
above those of its neighbors. Its compound leaf 
(eight to twelve inches long) is composed of from 
five to nine (usually seven) leaflets; these are deep 
green, smooth above, and pale, silvery green below, 
with a trifle of down on the ribs ; the teeth are 
very indistinct, or else the leaf edge is quite unbro- 
ken. The leaf stem is smooth and grooved, and 
the leaflet stems are quite a quarter of an inch 
long. The tall, heavy trunk on large specimens is 
gray, with deep intersecting furrows which cut the 
bark into short ridges. 

The ash is one of the latest trees to unfold its 
leaves in the spring, and in autumn, after the first 
severe frost, they blacken and fall to the ground; 

* Vide Trees and Tree-Planting, J. S. Brisbin. But I am in- 
clined to doubt this. A box elder I know of over twenty years 
old, still shows signs of development. 



242 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

this, however, is after they have turned a soft yellow 
somewhat modified by spots of persistent green. 




^L 



White Ash. 



The winged seeds are dainty, narrow, wedge-shaped 
little things about an inch and a half long. They 



THE ASH-LEAVED MAPLE AND THE ASHES. 243 

hang in loose clusters, and frequently remain on the 
bare branches until the middle of winter. 

The ash is a rapid-growing tree, which in thirty 
years from the time of planting will attain a height 
of 40 feet and a trunk diameter of sixteen inches. 
It is distinctively an inhabitant of the forest, and it 
likes rich, moist, cool soil. It is found from ]S"ew 
England to northern Minnesota; southward it ex- 
tends to northern Florida, and from there westward 
to Indian Territory, Kansas, and central 
Texas. The hard, tough wood has a 
handsome grain, and it is extensively 
used for the interior finish of houses, 
for furniture, carriages, agricultural 
implements, and oars. 



Red Ash. Tlie red asn is a 




Fraxinus smaller species, which 

Pennsylvanica. _? . ,. 

grows from 40 
to 60 feet high, and is dis- 
tinguished by the velvety 
hairiness of its leaf 
stems and branchlets. 
From seven to nine 
leaflets grow on the 
slightly grooved stem ; they are indistinctly toothed, 
light green above and pale green below, covered with 
downy hairs. The seed is rather blunt-tipped. 



Red Ash. 



244 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

Probably the red ash owes its name to the ruddy 
color on the inner surface of the rough onter bark on 
the branches ; but I have also noticed that the very 
young shoots have a decidedly ruddy or rusty colored 
downy surface. 

The red ash is found in low, rich, moist soil from 
Maine to eastern Nebraska and the Black Hills of the 
Dakotas; southward it extends to northern Florida 
and central Alabama. West of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains the tree is less common and smaller 
than it is in the East. 

Green Ash. The green ash is consid- 
Fraxinus viHdis. ered by Prof. C. S. Sar- 
Pennsylvania, gent a variety of the 
var. lanceoiata. foregoing species. The 
branchlets, leaves, and stems are quite 
smooth, without any downiness except a 
very slight amount sometimes found in the 
angles of the ribs on the under side of the 
leaflets ; there are five to nine of these, 
seed of the an( ^ they are distinctly toothed and some- 

GreenAsh. J 

what narrowed at the base ; the color is 
bright green above and a very slightly paler green 
below. 

The green ash is distributed from the eastern 
shore of Lake Champlain through the Appalachian 
region to northern Florida, and throughout the 




THE ASH-LEAVEB MAPLE AND THE ASHES. 245 



West.* It rarely attains a height of more than 30 or 
35 feet. Its • beautiful deep-green leaves, nearly the 
same color on either side, make it a handsome and 
ornamental tree deserving more extensive cultivation, 
partic- 
ularly 

as it is a rap 
id grower. In 
the Western cit 
ies it is common t 
streets and parks, 

Blue Ash. Tne blue 

Fraxinus ash is distin- 

quadrangulata. ^^ hj fa 

rather square branchlets, at 

least on young and vigorous 

shoots, so says Gray ; but I 

do not find that the average 

blue ash tree has this marked 

characteristic ; of course, this is due to the fact that 

the older branchlets have become round. The blue 

ash is a large Western species which grows from 60 

to 70 feet, and sometimes 100 or even 120 feet high. 

* East of the Mississippi River the red and green ashes grow 
side by side, and retain their individual character ; but in the 
West they are connected by intermediate forms which can be re- 
ferred to one as well as the other. — Silva of North America, C. S. 
Sargent. 

17 




Blue Ash, with seed twisted 
one quarter of the way 
around. 



246 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

The bark of the trunk is light gray, and it cracks in 
thin scales. 

The leaves (eight to twelve inches long) are com- 
posed* of from five to nine (usually seven) yellow- 
green leaflets, which are slightly paler below, and 
tipped along the rib with downy hairs ; the edges 
are sharply toothed, and the leaflet stem is barely an 
eighth of an inch long. In autumn the foliage turns 
a pale, dull yellow. The seeds are rather blunt and 
somewhat notched at the end of the wing. 

The blue ash is not a very common tree, and it is 
found mostly in moist woods or on rich limestone 
hills in the West, from southern Michigan to central 
Minnesota ; southward it extends to northern Alabama 
and northeastern Arkansas. The wood is hard and 
close-grained. In color it is brownish yellow, and it 
is used extensively for the interior finish of -houses. 
A blue dye is extracted from the inner bark by 
steeping it in water, and to this fact it undoubtedly 
owes its name. 

Water Ash. The water ash is a tree from 25 to 
Fraxinus piatycarpa. 40 feet high, which inhabits the 

Fraxinus Caroliniana. -, , . ., , „ 

almost inaccessible river swamps of 
the South, where it is found in the shade of the 
bald cypress. Its leaves (seven to twelve inches 
long) have from five to seven ovate leaflets, which are 
deep green above and pale green below, with per- 



THE ASH-LEA YED MAPLE AND THE ASHES. 247 



Imps a slight downiness along the ribs. This tree 
may be easily distinguished from the other ashes by 
its broad, roundish, slightly toothed leaflets, 
and the elliptical (not wedge-shaped) seeds. 

The water ash extends from southern 
Virginia to central Florida ; westward 
it reaches its limit in the valley of 
the Sabine River, Tex., and in south- 
eastern Arkansas. 

Black Ash. The black ash is a 
Fraxinm nigra. ta u ? slender tree 

which grows from 40 to TO feet, and 
occasionally, in the forest, 90 feet 
high ; it has a dark-gray trunk. Its 
leaves (twelve to sixteen inches long) are 
composed of from seven to eleven leaflets, 
which are joined to the main stem without 
a sign of a stemlet ; they are distinctly water Ash. 
but irregularly toothed, and the stem is grooved ; 
in color they are a deeper green than those of the 
white ash, and pale below, with rusty hairs scattered 
over the whitish ribs. In the White Mountain re- 
gion they do not appear until the latter part of May, 
and they turn brownish and drop after the first heavy 
frost in early October. In fact, I have noticed that 
the black ash sheds its leaves almost if not quite as 
soon as the butternut. The winged seed is blunt at 




248 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Black Ash. 



both ends, and the wing forms a margin all around 
the seed. 

The black ash is found in swamps and moist wood- 



THE ASH-LEAVED MAPLE AND THE ASHES. 249 

lands, and is distributed from Maine to northern 
Minnesota ; southward it extends to the mountains of 
Virginia, and southwestward to central Missouri and 
northwestern Arkansas. The light, brownish wood is 
soft and has a handsome grain. It is used for the 
interior finish of houses, and for cabinet-work and 
barrel hoops. The pliable and tough wood of young 
saplings I have found very useful for ribs in the con- 
struction of a river canoe. Soaked in hot water, it is 
quite surprising to see how much bending and twist- 
ing a strip of young black ash will bear before it 
breaks. 

The European ash (Fmxinus excelsior), which is 
sometimes found in parks and gardens, has from 
eleven to thirteen leaflets (a lesser number in some 
varieties), which are deep green, broad, lance-shaped, 
and toothed. The seed, like that of the black ash, is 
also winged all around. The weeping ash (var. pen- 
dula) is one of the most beautiful forms of this 
species. 



CHAPTEK XX. 

IV. Compound Opposite Leaves. 

2. With teeth. Leaflets radiating. 

THE HORSE-CHESTNUTS OR BUCKEYES. 

The beautiful native buckeyes and the foreign 
horse-chestnuts, with broad, rounded figures and 
hand-shaped^ radiating leaves, are conventional char- 
acters which concede little in the direction of the 
picturesque. Even the symmetrical sugar maple is 
not without a certain freedom in detail as well as out- 
line ; but the horse-chestnuts are the embodiment of 
rule and order, both in figure and foliage. A full- 
leaved branch is so conventional in its leaf arrange- 
ment that a careful drawing appears like a decorative 
design — I mean if the branch is copied, looking at it 
square in the face. The most beautiful of these radi- 
Horse-Chestnut. ating-leaved trees is the common 
uEscuivs horse-chestnut,* which comes from 

Hippocastanum. -j^ T , . -,. -, -. 

rr Europe, it is a medium-sized, round- 

* " It was introduced into this country about the middle of 
250 



THE HORSE-CHESTNUTS OR BUCKEYES. 251 

figured tree, on the average not more than 40 feet 
high. The leaf * is composed of about seven leaflets 
(sometimes there are but five), which are abruptly 
pointed, strongly veined, and toothed on a somewhat 
scalloped edge. The large, pyramidal clusters of 
cream -white flowers, spotted with dull yellow and 
ruddy purple, bloom in May or June, and impart a 
very ornamental appearance to the tree. The fruit 
has a thickish husk with strong prickles and a large 
chestnut-colored nut, of a peculiar, strong, but aro- 
matic odor. It is not edible ; some say that it is 
poisonous. 

The red horse-chestnut (/Esculus rubicunda) is 
thought to be a hybrid between the common horse- 
chestnut and ^Esculus pavia, one of the buckeyes. 
It is a great favorite, and is frequently found in parks 
and gardens. Its flowers are of a warm, pinkish-red 
color, and its leaf is composed of from five to seven 
rather rough leaflets, sometimes dotted here and there 
with red. The combined pink and green colors of 
this tree when it is in bloom are most charming and 
soft. The tone is pitched in a low key, and merits 



the last century ; the first tree is said to be still standing on the 
estate of Mr. Lemuel Wells, of Yonkers, N. Y." Prof. Sargent, 
in Silva of North America, says it is indigenous in the mountains 
of northern Greece. 

* The leaves are rarely or never eaten by the larvae of insects. 



252 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 




Horse- Chestnut. 



THE HORSE-CHESTNUTS OR BUCKEYES. 253 



the attention of those who delight in " aesthetic " 
color. 

Ohio or Fetid The Ohio or fetid buckeye is a small 

Buckeye. tree from 20 to 35 (rarely it is 70) 

JSsculus glabra, feet j^ wh()ge gmj bapk hag & dis _ 

agreeable, rank odor. Its leaf is composed of five, 
sometimes seven, long, ovate leaflets, 
which are not broad and abruptly 
pointed like those of the horse-chest- 
nut. Their edges are rather un- 
equally fine-toothed. The flowers 
are small, not showy, and light yel- 
low green. The fruit, which is 
about an inch and a quarter or 
two inches in diameter, has 
prickles on the husk (which in- 
closes two nuts) when it is 
young ; otherwise it has a warty 
appearance. The nut is smooth, 
and an inch or more broad. 

The Ohio buckeye * grows on 
river banks and low ground from 
western Pennsylvania to southern 
Iowa, central Kansas, and Indian Ter- Ohio Buckeye ; 
ritory ; southward it extends west of flowers and nut. 

* The extensive growth of this species in Ohio, the " Buckeye 
State,' 7 occasioned that name. 




254 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



the Alleghany Mountains to northern Alabama. The 

wood is light and tough. 

The vellow or sweet buckeye is a 
Yellow or Sweet " J 

Buckeye. large tree from 30 to 90 feet high 

vEscuius flava. (south westward it is only a shrub 6 

^Esculus octandra. -i • i \ -i • i 

ieet high), which grows m rich woods 
from Allegheny County, Pa., southward along the 
Alleghany Mountains to the vicinity of Augusta, 
Ga., and northern Alabama, and westward 
to southern Iowa and Texas. It owes 
its name to the fact that the 
tree does not possess the 
disagreeable odor 
common to 
other mem- 
bers of the 
family. 

The leaves 
are composed of 

from live to Seven Sweet Buckeye ; one leaflet, flowers and nut. 

elliptical leaflets 

from four to six inches long. They are sharply and 
rather evenly toothed, and often a trifle downy along 
the ribs beneath. They are sometimes shed quite 
early in September. The flowers are dull yellow.* 




* I have drawn the flower because it is distinctly different 
from that of the Ohio buckeye ; the calyx is elongated and 



THE HORSE-CHESTNUTS OR BUCKEYES. 255 

The fruit, about two inches or more in diameter, has 
an uneven but not a prickly surface. The nut, one 
or two in a husk, is about an inch or more broad. 
The wood is light and strong, and is sometimes used 
for making kitchen utensils. 

The purple sweet buckeye, vEseulus octandra, var. 
hybrida (also called JEsculus flava, var. purpuras- 
cens) has ruddy-colored or dull-purplish flowers, and 
leaflets which are very downy beneath. Its bark is 
lighter colored. 

The red buckeye {JEscidus Pavia) is little more 
than a shrub, but it occasionally grows to a height of 
25 feet.* It has large clusters of bright-red flowers 
(which bloom in May), and generally smooth leaves. 
This tree grows wild in the fertile valleys of Yirginia 
and southward. It extends westward to Missouri. f 

the lateral petals are long, narrow, and roundish at the 
ends. 

* The largest tree of this species in this country is in the gar- 
den of Mr. Landreth, of Philadelphia; it is 25 feet high, and has 
a trunk circumference of three feet and three quarters. — Trees 
and Tree- Planting, J. S. Brisbin. 

f In the Carolinas its saponiferous roots are used as a substi- 
tute for soap, and its bruised branches and bark are used to 
stupefy fish in small ponds. — Trees and Tree- Planting, J. S. 
Brisbin. 



CHAPTER XXL 

V. Evergreen Leaves. 

1. With long needles. 

THE PINE. 

The evergreens are pre-eminently trees of winter. 
At no other season of the year is the greenness of 
f oliage quite so restful and grateful to the eyes. But 
this demulcent effect on one's eyesight, at the time 
of dazzling snows, is nothing in comparison with the 
marvelous ameliorating influence which these winter 
trees exert on our rigorous Northern cold. They rob 
the winter winds of their severity, and produce for 
the invalid an equable and temperate climate possess- 
ing remarkable health-giving qualities. There is no 
exaggeration of truth in saying that the temperature 
in a pine belt differs radically from that in the open 
country fifteen miles away, although it would be dif- 
ficult to demonstrate the fact by means of the ther- 
mometer. The mercury might record but a slight 

variation in the temperature of the two places, but 

256 



THE PINE. 257 

one's feelings would be sure to indicate an immeasur- 
able change. 

The fact remains, however, that the winter climate 
of the " pines " in New Jersey is very similar to that 
of Florida. One is not so much surprised at this 
after a walk through the pine forest, for all below is 
mild and quiet, while above, the sighing, singing 
winds relentlessly toss the rugged branches to and 
fro. In the White Mountains I have also noticed 
that, however bitterly cold it was on the open road, 
the sheltered depths of the forest permitted me to 
use my pencil with unprotected fingers for quite a 
length of time. One must experience the tonic of 
the winter air laden with balsamic odors in order to 
properly appreciate it. There is as much scientific 
truth as there is poetry in what Whittier had writ- 
ten long before the Northern winter sanitarium 
became popular : 

There's iron in our Northern winds ; 
Our pines are trees of healing. 

But there are few of us who see much of the 
pines in winter, and in summer their beauty is 
eclipsed by the prodigal luxuriance of the deciduous 
trees. However, the pine grove is not unappreciated 
even in August, and if we will bend our steps thither 
we will enter a region far more accessible and inter- 



258 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

esting than the overcrowded one where grow the oak 

and maple. 

White Pine. The fine-needled white pine is the 
Pinus strobua. most valuable timber tree of our 

country. It grows with a straight trunk from 




White Pine, leaf at A. 



70 to 180 feet high, and has yellowish-white, soft 
wood with a straight grain nearly free from resin. 




THE PINE. 259 

Bat, alas for the white pine ! it has been so extensive- 
ly nsed for building purposes, and many regions that 
were supposed to contain inex- 
haustible supplies have been so 
completely stripped of all valu- 
able timber, that the day is ap- 
proaching when the pine forest 
will be no more. The beautiful 
grove known as the Cathedral 
Woods, in North Conway, N. H., is rap- 
idly falling a victim to the axe. The life 
of a tree is considered of less value than 
its timber; and our State Legislatures seem unable 
to exert their power of eminent domain in behalf of 
the tree, although no end of it has been expended in 
obtaining highways for the locomotive. 

The white pine has the softest and most delicate 
needle of all the species. It grows in a little bunch 
of five, and varies in length from three to four 
inches. Its color is a clear, lightish green, with 
a trifle of whitish bloom. The cone, from four to 
six inches long, is narrow and slightly curved ; it 
has no prickle at the tip of the rather thin 
scales. 

This pine is common from Maine westward to 
Minnesota and eastern Iowa ; southward it extends 
along the Alleghany Mountains to Georgia. On 



260 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Pine. 

Plnus palustris. 



older specimens the gray-brown trunk is rough, but 
on the younger ones it is quite smooth. 
Southern Yellow The Southern yellow pine has very 
resinous yellow wood, and extreme- 
ly flexible needles from ten to fif- 
teen inches in length, 
bright olive -green, 
and grouped in 
bunches of three; 
they grow in thick 
clusters at the 
' ends of the branch- 
es. The beautiful 
cylindrical cones are 
from six to ten inches 
long, light brown, and have 
rather thick scales with tiny 
prickles at the tips. The 
needles and cones are very 
ornamental, and they can be 
used most effectively in deco- 
ration. Indeed, for this pur- 
pose I like the branches of 
a Southern yellow pine better 
than I do palm leaves. 

This pine furnishes the 
most valuable and ornamental wood of all the ever- 




Southern Yellow Pine 

(Georgia Pine). 
One scale of cone at A. 



THE PINE. 



261 



green trees ; it is generally called Georgia pine, and 
its color is a rich, transparent ruddy, gold-ocher ; it 
is also extremely hard and durable, and is largely 
used for the decks of ships. The tree grows about 
TO or 80 feet high, has rather thin-scaled bark, and 
is found in sandy soil from southern Virginia to 
Florida and Texas. 

The loblolly or old -field pine 



Loblolly or 

Old-field Pine 

Pinus Tueda. 



is a large-sized 



tree, growing 
from 50 to 150 feet high (only 
in the forests does it attain 
the greater height), which also 
has long needles, measuring at 
most perhaps ten inches ; they 
are rather rigid in character, deep 
olive -green, slender, and grow 
three (rarely two) in a bunch. 
The cones are not pendant, 
but are placed laterally on 
the branchlets. They are 
three or four inches long, 
conical, and the scales have 
short, straight, or some- 
times slightly incurved prickles. 

The loblolly pine is found from Delaware to 
Florida, near the coast, and thence it extends to 

18 




Loblolly Pine 



262 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Texas and Arkansas. 
value. 



Its wood lias no especial 



The Northern pitch pine is a medi- 
um-sized, rugged-looking tree which 
grows from 30 to 80 feet high, with 
curved needles about three or four inches long, grow- 



Northem Pitch 
Pine. 

Pinus riqida. 




Northern Pitch Pine. 

ing in bunches of three ; they are coarse, rigid, and 
somewhat flattened. The cones are from one and a 
half to three and a half inches long, ovate, and the 
scales are furnished with a short recurved prickle. 
Sometimes the cones grow hi clusters. 

The tree has a very rough appearance, with 



THE PINE. 



263 




Northern Pitch Pine. Needles at A, 
cone and prickled scale at B, mag- 
nified needle at C. 



roughness under 



scragged branches and coarse-scaled, dark, brown - 
gray bark. Its wood is hard, pitchy, and of no value 
except for fuel. My 
drawing of the magnified 
needle will show some- 
thing of the rough char- 
acter which marks every 
detail of the tree. The 
edge of the needle is 
toothed like a saw, but 
the surface is daintily 
marked by rows of fine 
white dots. Sometimes Nature's 
the microscope resolves itself into extreme delicacy. 

The Northern pitch pine grows from Maine to 
northern Georgia, western JSTew York, and eastern 
Kentucky. It is common in sandy barrens, and is 
sometimes found in swamps. 

Scotch Pine. The Scotch pine, also called (but 
Pinus syhestHs. wr0 ngly) Scotch fir, is the common 
pine of northern Europe. It has been introduced 
into this country so extensively that few parks or 
private grounds are without at least one specimen. 
The color of this pine is a study for an artist. In 
many specimens it is a most beautiful light sage- 
green, and in others it is bluish sage-green. Consid- 
ering the interest attached to tree colors, and the con- 



264 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



elusions I have arrived at regarding them, it is some- 
what disturbing to find, in the half dozen botanical 
books before me, the leaf color given, 
but no further hint of the general 
color effect of the trees.* So, 
when I say that the foliage of 
the Scotch pine is " sage- 
green," I find nryself with- 
out support from the bot- 
anists. However, botan- 
ical writers rarely assist 
us in the recognition of 
those broad effects of 
color and form in Nature 
which are sometimes pro- 
foundly impressive, f and 
their indifference to truths, 
which are not categorically bo- 
tanical is therefore excusable ; 
but for me it would be inexcusa- 
bly negligent not to say that the 
Scotch fir possesses a most pe- 




Scotch Pine. 



* The color of the leaf by no means decides the color of the 
tree. The latter is generally complex, through a variety of causes 
chief among which is atmospheric influence. 

f I must not omit to say, however, that Prof. Sargent, in his 
Silva of North America, has given most graphic and truthful 



THE PINE. 



265 



culiarly aesthetic light green entirely unlike the color 
of any other pine tree. 

The grayish, bine-green needle is from two to two 
and a half inches long, curved, twisted, and grows in 
pairs. The very odd-looking cones are from two to 
three inches long, tapering, angular-scaled, and they 
require two years in which to ripen ; the scales are 
tipped with a recurved prickle. The trunk of the 
Scotch pine is a warm, ruddy buff color. The little 
twigs are yellowish, and the needles grow thickly at 
the ends of the branchlets. This 
tree furnishes the wood called deal, 
so commonly used in Europe. 

Table Mountain The Table 
Pine. Mountain or 

Plnus puna ens. • 1 i 

F y prickly pme 

is an inhabitant of the 
Alleghany Mountains, 
and is found from 
Pennsylvania to South 
Carolina. Its stout 
needles are about two 
inches long, flat, and 
dark, bluish green ; they grow in bunches of two and 
sometimes three. The cone is about three inches or 




Table Mountain Pine. 



descriptions of the autumnal coloring of many trees and their 
leaves. 



266 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

more long, ovate, and its scales are armed with a 
strong, hooked prickle about a quarter of an inch 
long. . The general appearance of the Table Moun- 
tain pine is similar, excepting its color, to that of the 
Scotch pine ; but its height is only from 20 to 60 
feet. The wood is not useful for timber. 

Jersey Scrub Pine. 0ne mi g nt tnink > f rom its low > stra g" 
Pinus inops. ghng character, that the Jersey scrub 

pine was without beauty or interest. 
I am not of that opinion, however, for the bold foli- 
age and long branches are uncommonly picturesque 
when seen in relief against the sky, and certainly no 
artist could wish for a wilderness more beautiful than 
that called the "Pines" in New Jersey, where the 
tree may be seen in its prime, clothed in a soft, warm 
green in striking relief with the marvelously white, 
sandy floor beneath. There is a certain rugged beauty 
to the tree, notwithstanding an unconventional ap- 
pearance. Its long, outstretched limbs with irregular 
dotted outlines, its bristling warm green needles, and 
its strongly accented, blackish trunk — these are at- 
tractive qualities which not all the other pines possess 
even in part. 

The needles, one and a half to barely three inches 
long, grow two in a bunch ; they are flat, a trifle 
twisted and curved, one sixteenth of an inch wide, 
and of a lively, deep yellow green. The outer surfaces 



THE PINE. 267 

are a little deeper in color. The bark of the trunk is 
grayish brown, and the thin scales, perpendicularly 
arranged, are often sharply and hori- 
zontally cracked across. The 




Jersey Scrub Pine. 



young twigs have a purplish-brown hue, with a plum- 
like bloom. 

The Jersey scrub pine grows from 15 to 40 feet 
high, and is found on barren and sandy ground, from 
Long Island, N. Y., to South Carolina near the coast, 
and westward through Kentucky to southern Indiana. 
The cone is about two inches long, and is furnished 
with thornlike prickles on the tips of the scales. 

Yellow Pine. Tlie J ellow P ine is a straight, sym- 
Pinusmitis. metrical, often cone-shaped tree, 50 

PinusecMnata. ^ 1Q() ^ ^ ^^ j g y ^ Mq 

for its lumber. Indeed, yellow pine is next in value 
to Georgia pine, and is largely used as an ornamental 
wood for interior trimmings, flooring, ceiling, ship- 



268 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

building, etc. The grain of the wood is very beauti- 
ful, and shows long streaks of deep, gold-ocher color, 




Yellow Pine. 



rather more delicate and less ruddy than that of 
Georgia pine. The tree has a handsome figure, with 
regular branches, and soft, slender needles which 
grow thickly at the ends of the branchlets. It is 
one of the most ornamental members of the pine 
family. 

The needles, two and a half to five inches long, 
grow two and occasionally three in a bunch ; they 
are roundish, slender, and dark green. The trunk 
bark is gray brown, and the cones (the smallest ones 
of the American pines), barely two inches long, have 
rather small, weak prickles at the tips of the scales. 

The yellow pine is common in dry or sandy soil 
from Staten Island, N. Y., southward to Florida, and 
southwestward from southern Indiana to southeastern 
Kansas and Texas. 



Gray or Northern 



THE PINE. 
The gray pine, 



269 
sometimes called 



Scrub Pine. 

Plnus Banlcsiana. 



Northern scrub pine, is the least 
interesting of the species. Its needle 
is so short that in general effect the tree reminds one 
of some scraggy coarse spruce. It is often a mere 
shrub, and very rarely attains a height of 30 feet. 




Gray or Northern Scrub Pine. 

The needles are the shortest in the pine family ; 
they are scarcely over an inch long, flat, and about a 
sixteenth of an inch wide. They usually grow in 
pairs, and have an even bright yellow-green color, 
which varies but a trifle in different specimens. 
Notice also that the two needles do not hold closely 
together, as in the case of the white pine, but diverge 
at a wide angle. The newer whitish buff cones, about 
two inches long (sometimes less), are often curved at 
the end, and point in the same direction as the branch. 
The old, dark-brown cones have reflex scales with no 
prickles. The young twigs are reddish. This pine is 



270 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

found in the barren or sandy soils of southern Maine, 

northern Vermont, and westward to Minnesota. I 

have never found it in the sandy valleys of the White 

Mountain district. 

The red pine, which is usually called 
Norway pine in New Hampshire, is 
one of the handsomest members of its 

family, especially when young. My 

drawings of the branches, taken 

from a young and an 

old tree, show how 

greatly these 



Red or Norway- 
Pine. 

Finns resinosa. 




Young Red or Norway Pine. 



differ. The needles of a young specimen are thick- 
ly clustered along the stout and extremely ornamen- 
tal branch which is terminated by a still thicker 
cluster of long, dark-green needles. These branches 




THE PINE. 271 

I have found very useful for decorative purposes. 
Their bold, vigorous outlines can scarcely be excelled 
by the palm leaf. 

The needles, five to seven inches long, grow in 
pairs. They are roundish, straight, and dark green. 
The cones are two or two and a half inches 
long, and their scales are not furnished with 
prickles. They usually grow in clusters. 
The bark of the trunk is very ruddy, and 
even the branchlets are smooth and red. So 
the tree may easily be identified without 
the aid of the needles. 

The Norway pine grows to 
a height of from 50 to 90 feet ; 
it is very common, particular- 
ly on the worn-out pasture 
lands, in the southern districts 
of the White Mountains, and 

... (. , „ , r , Norway Pine cone and needle. 

it is found from Massachu- 
setts westward to Minnesota. The wood is hard, 
durable, not very resinous, and is well adapted to 
construction requiring unusual strength. It makes a 
fine flooring, although it has not the beautiful grain 
of the yellow pine. As an ornamental tree the young 
red pine has few equals ; but I must not say too much 
about this, lest, by provoking comparisons, some in- 
justice will be done another equally beautiful pine. 



272 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

We must not forget that the beauty of Nature 
confines itself to no rale of limitation ; even as " one 
star diifereth from another star in glory," so beauty is 
made perfect by differences in type — and in Nature 




Old Norway Pine. 

these are manifold. The pity of it is that so few of 
us are willing to believe in more than one or two 
types. I will not say, then, that Pinus resinosa is 
more ornamental than Pinus Strohus, but that the 
beauty of the former can never be appreciated until 
the beauty of the latter emphasizes it by contrast. 



CHAPTEK XXII. 

V. Evergreen Leaves. 

2. With short, flat, blunt needles, or with soft needles. 
THE HEMLOCK, FIR, AND LARCH. 



Hemlock. 

Tsuga Canadensis, 

lock when it grows in the 
open, where it receives 
the full benefit of unob- 
structed sunlight. The 
boughs of this tree are 
plumelike, drooping, and 
spread out laterally witl 
an appearance of feathery 



There is no more graceful and orna- 
mental evergreen tree than the hem- 



lightness. 



Its blunt, flat 



long, 




needles, about 
half an inch 
are the 
most lustrous 
dark green imag- 
inable, with a delicate whitish tint beneath ; in late 

273 



Hemlock. 




274 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

spring the newer ones are light yellow green. There 
is no phase of tree life more beautiful than that pre- 
sented by the hem- 
lock clothed in its 
springtime garb ; 
the tips of the 
dark - green sprays 
Hemlock cones. are painted in yel- 

low - green, with a 
fairylike daintiness, the effect of which could only 
be conveyed to the mind by a careful study in color. 

But a young, full-foliaged hemlock on the edge 
of the pasture is a very different character from the 
dark and gloomy tree in the forest shades ; here, its 
straight stem, with few or no lower branches, rises to 
a height of from 50 to 80 feet. 

The tiny cones are oval, thin-scaled, and, when 
young, tan-color. They are scarcely over half an 
inch long, and depend from the lower side of the 
branchlet ; the tiny winged seed will be seen en- 
larged in my drawing at A. This tree abounds in 
the rocky woods of the North ; it extends from 
Maine to Delaware, and follows the Alleghany 
Mountains southward to Alabama ; westward it finds 
its limit in Minnesota. 

The bark of the hemlock is largely used for tan- 
ning leather, and I am sorry to say that in the White 



THE HEMLOCK, FIR, AND LARCH. 275 

Mountains many of the trees are destroyed solely for 
their bark, although the timber is very valuable for 
house-framing and for rough boarding ; much of it, 
though, is subject to a flaw called "wind shake," a 
perpendicular splitting of the wood caused by winter 
storms which bend and " shake " the stems. The 
wood is rather white, and faintly tinged with buff 
or pink ; its grain is coarse, twisted, and unfit for 
interior finish. 

The mountain hemlock (Tsuga Caroliniana) is 
a species so similar to the foregoing that it is not 
an easy matter to discriminate between them. It 
is rather rare, anyway, growing wild only in the 
higher Alleghany Mountains. A small specimen in 
the Arnold Arboretum, the only one I have seen, 
differs from the common hemlock in its larger needle 
more thickly distributed over the branchlet, and its 
larger cone with more spreading scales. This tree 
rarely grows over 30 feet high. 

Balsam Fir. The balsam fir is the much-esteemed 
Abies baisamea. " Christmas tree," whose aromatic 
perfume is a sufficient means for its identification. 
This is the tree, in fact, which furnishes the needles 
for " pine pillows." It can not be reasonably con- 
fused with the spruce for several reasons. Its needle 
is about three quarters of an inch long (rarely it 
measures a full inch), dark blue-green above and 



276 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

silvery blue-white below ; it is very flat, straight, 
not curved, and has a very Hunt end. There is a 




Balsam Fir. 



groove in the center of the needle above, and a cor- 
responding raised rib below. The branchlets are 
flat, and the needles do not project from them in all 
directions as they do on the spruce ; the little branch- 
lets are also conventionally arranged at an angle of 
45° with the larger ones. 




THE HEMLOCK, FIR, AND LARCH. 277 

The bark of the fir is gray, and what little mark- 
ing there is on the trunk is horizontal or has a blister- 
like appearance ; it is from these tiny excrescences 
that the well-known Canada balsam is obtained, which 
is remarkable for its healing properties.* 

The cone of the fir is from two 
to four inches long, one inch broad, 
and has a peculiar purplish color when 
young ; it holds a somewhat erect 
position on the edge of the branchlet, 
and the scales are flat, rounded, thin, 
and accompanied by a leaflet (bract) 
which is tipped by an abrupt slender 

point. Balsam Fir Cone. 

The balsam fir is found in damp woods and 
mountain swamps from Maine to Minnesota, and 

* The atmosphere which is laden with the odors of the balsam 
fir is also remarkable for certain qualities which are beneficial to 
invalids. Asheville, N. C, is situated on a high plateau sur- 
rounded by the Balsam Range of the Alleghany Mountains. In 
this town the pure, dry air sifted through the balsam firs has a 
wonderful power of healing for many lung diseases. There is a 
sanitarium there which is a popular and famous resort for con- 
sumptives. 

The late Dr. A. L. Loomis, of New York, in a paper read some 
years ago before the State Medical Society, testified to the fact that 
the pines and firs which abounded in the Adirondack region ladened 
the atmosphere heavily with ozone, and that the resinous odors 
of the evergreens were the most beneficial of all tonics for the 
patient suffering with pulmonary phthisis. 
19 



278 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



southward from Pennsylvania along the Alleghany 
Mountains to North Carolina. I call to mind a 
most beautiful group of these spirelike trees which 
flanks what is known as the " Bog Road " in Camp- 
ton, N. H. I can conceive of nothing more solemn 
and impressive than the fir tree in moonlight ; al- 
though it never attains an altitude of more than 45 
feet (so far as my knowledge extends), it certainly 
reveals, in the light of the moon, a figure of vague 
and stately proportions. My sketch 
was taken from a specimen 42 
feet high, which grows in a 
maple orchard at Blair, IS". H. 

Fraser's Balsam Fir. Fraser's bal- 
Abies Fraseri. gam £ r ig a 

rare, small tree which does 
not exceed 40 feet in height, and 
which grows in the higher Alle- 
ghany Mountains from North Caro- 
lina southward. The very blunt nee- 
dle is from one half to three quar- 
ters of an inch long, and bluish white 
on the back, with a distinct line of 
OTeen down the middle : the little 
Fraser's Fir. branchlets are thickly beset with 
needles on the upper side, and on the 
lower side the color is extremely whitish. While the 




THE HEMLOCK, FIR, AND LARCH. 279 

foreshortened branclilets of the common fir generally 
appear flattened, Fraser's fir shows a considerable 
thickness of 
needles on ^^ 




the upper 
side ; and, on 

A, Spruce ; B, Fraser's Balsam Fir ; C, Balsam Fir. 

the contrary, 

the spruces show the greater thickness on the under 

side. My little diagrams will make my meaning 

plain. 

The cone is oblong, and from one to two inches 
long, the leaflets (bracts) having a short-pointed 
upper termination conspicuously projecting and re- 
flexed. The general color of a young Fraser's fir 
is deep olive-green with dashes of bluish sage-white. 
Larch or ^he ^ arcn ? sometimes called hackma- 

Hackmatack. tack or tamarack, is a tall tree 50 to 
LaHx Americana. 10() f eet i lig j 1? ^j, extremely thin, 

delicate pale-green foliage. The leaves are decidu- 
ous, soft, and they grow in bunches along the branch- 
lets like thick threads about an inch or less long. 
The cone is from one half to three quarters of an 
incli long, reddish brown, and has very few scales. 

The dainty, cool green coloring of the larch in 
spring, and its extraordinary thin, tall figure, which is 
delicately penciled against the blue sky on a clear day, 
make it an exceedingly ornamental tree. The larch 



280 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



inhabits cold swamps and shady hillsides throughout 
the North ; its southern limits are Pennsylvania, 
northern Indiana and Illinois, and central Minnesota. 
The European larch (Larix JEuropcea) is a fast- 
growing tree considered even more ornamental than 
its American relative, with leaves about an inch long 
(a trifle longer on the average than those of the other 
species), and of a deeper light green. The branch- 
lets of this tree are somewhat pendulous. The cones 
are sometimes more than an inch long, and they have 
numerous scales. There is also a weeping form of 
the European larch. 




CHAPTEE XXIII. 

V. Evergreen Leaves. 

3. With short, sharp needles, or with scales. 
THE SPRUCE, ETC. 

The distinguishing difference between the fir and 
the spruce needle is the sharp tip of the latter, and 
the blunt, almost squarish tip of the former. A 
comparison of my drawings of branchlets taken 
from these two trees will also show a great differ- 
ence in details which I need not mention here. 
The little twigs of the spruce are always sur- 
rounded by a body guard of needles ; the fir tree 
is content to guard the upper side of the stem, and 
allow the under side to meet the winter winds un- 
protected ; hence both stem and back of leaf con- 
tribute a pleasing variety of color to the tree. 

But the spruce (at least the Eastern spruce) has a 
uniform dark, somber green,* which only varies with 

* The slight bloom which is occasionally present on the under 
side of the needle does not seem to affect the general green of the 
tree. 

281 



282 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

the species. There are three species common in the 
northeastern section of the country — the red, black, 
and white. The most interesting one of these is the 
Red Spruce. red spruce.* This tree is familiar 
Picea rubra. to those who may have climbed the 
granite hills of New Hampshire; nowhere else has 
the spruce seemed to me quite so impressive, for in 




R^d Spruce. 



* Botanists differ in opinion about the red spruce; some con- 
sider it a variety of the black spruce. In the Manual, Gray fol- 
lows Englemann's name, Picea nigra, var. rubra. 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 283 

this section of the country it holds almost exclusive 
possession of the wildernesses and the great summits 
which rise from 4,000 to 4,500 feet above sea level. 
In traveling through the valleys of the Gale, Am- 
monoosuc, Pemigewasset, Ellis, and Saco Rivers, one 
may trace on the mountain walls the line where the 
maples and birches stop and the dark spruces be- 
gin ; their somber black-green color clothes the 
greater hills with something like majestic solemnity 
— an aspect which the poet Whittier must have had 
in mind (although he does not allude to the spruce 
tree) when he wrote this : 

By maple orchards, belts of pine, 

And larches climbing" darkly 
The mountain slopes, and, over all, 

The great peaks rising starkly. 

These lines, however, perfectly express the impres- 
sion which the spruce -clad mountain wall produces 
on the mind of one who passes through the valleys 
of the White Mountains. 

In the Sandwich country, the scene of Whittier's 
Among the Hills, the somber coloring covers the 
northern hills from Sandwich Dome to Mount Cho- 
corua, a distance of fifteen miles. 

The red spruce in mountain fastnesses is the most 
picturesque tree imaginable ; it rivals the cypress of 
the Southern swamps. In the dense forests which 



284 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

flank the Presidential Range it rises far above its 
neighbors from a bed of damp moss and pale-tinted 
ferns, with tall, sheer trunk, and scragged limbs 
draped with hoary moss, the acknowledged king of 
the wilderness. ^It bears all the marks of a hard 
fight for life amid opposing elements, but winter's 
storms and biting arctic winds avail nothing, for, 
in spite of them, the tree climbs to the very borders 
of the Alpine region. 

As Gray hardly does more than mention the red 
spruce in the Manual, and in the Field, Forest, and 
Garden Botany he does not allude to it at all, it will 
be best for me to point out those differences which 
have been explained to me by several botanists, and 
add the results of my own observations. 

The general appearance of the red species in 
the White Mountains, and the black species in the 
Arnold Arboretum, do not correspond at all ; the 
trees are entirely different in color. The red spruce 
is a dark, yellow-olive green ; the black spruce is in- 
clined to a purplish black olive or an intense olive- 
green. Of course, the color of the red species re- 
solves itself to an intensely dark, black green, as it is 
seen among the deciduous trees in summertime on 
the flanks of the great mountains ; it is not possible, 
therefore, to judge of a tree color when it is a mile 
or so away ; but as seen together, the two species a 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 285 

hundred feet from the observer have no resem- 
blance to each other in point of color. I might de- 
scribe the black spruce as having a blacker tone with 
a misty effect. 

The cone of the red spruce is comparatively red- 
der than that of the black spruce, and it is usually a 
trine larger ; as a rule, the edges of the scales are not 
so jagged as those of the black spruce cone, and if 
my drawings are compared it will be seen that the 
last-mentioned cone has a decidedly square-pointed 
scale.* Gray describes the black spruce cone as hav- 
ing a thin denticulate edge. This is a marvelously 
good point of distinction, for, if one will snap the 
edge of a red spruce cone scale with the finger nail, 
it will respond with a somewhat musical note ; on the 
contrary, a black spruce specimen is either so thin 
that it will not snap at all, or else it will produce a 
note pitched so high that there is hardly any music 
left in it. The same experiment with the papery 
cone of the white spruce elicits a very low note with 
hardly any musical quality. Of course, only old or 
very well dried cones will serve for this test. 

Another point of distinction between the red and 
black spruces is observable in the tiny bare twigs : in 
the red these are tan-red, in the black they are con- 

* This is not invariably the rule; sometimes the scales are 
rounder, but still jagged-edged. 



286 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

siderably browner and duller — in a word, they lack 
color. It is easier to make this test after the branch- 
lets have been kept long enough for the needles to 
drop off. By comparing the three species it will 
then be seen that the tiny twigs of the white spruce 
are very light and perfectly smooth, while the black 
and red spruce twigs are covered with tiny hairs 
(see my drawings marked A, of magnified black 
and white spruce twigs), and are much darker in 
color. 

The bark of the trunk is brown and scaly, not 
smooth and gray like that of the fir. In March, 
spruce gum is gathered from the seams in the trunk. 

The red spruce is distributed over the country 
from Maine to Pennsylvania and Minnesota ; it ex- 
tends southward along the Alleghany Mountains to 
Georgia. There are immense tracts of it in the 
mountain regions of New Hampshire and Maine, 
and I know of one forest region comprising no less 
than one hundred square miles which is almost ex- 
clusively occupied by red spruce of the largest pro- 
portions. This land lies in the heart of the White 
Mountains, with Mounts Guyot and Bond on the 
north, "Willey, Nancy, and Tremont on the east, Kan- 
kamagus, Osceola, Tecumseh, and Scar Ridge on the 
south, and the Lafayette range on the west. But 
already the woodsman's axe has penetrated deeply 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



287 



into the forest, and a work of destruction has be- 
gun which before many years will occasion ever- 
lasting regret among those whose interests are closely 
connected with this part of the country. 

Black Spruce. The young black spruce is often 

Plcea nigra. whitish purple - green or uniform 

deep olive - green (not bluish), with no effect of 

bloom. The needle is sharp, four-sided, slenderer 

than that of the red spruce, straight or curved, as 




Black Spruce. 



the case may be, and often grows close to the tan- 
colored stem ; the older stems, half an inch or so in 
diameter, are light brown gray. The cone, about an 
inch and a quarter long, is a beautiful light tan color 
when young, although in the beginning it is madder 
purple. The old cone is apt to cling tenaciously to 
the branchlet, and assumes a dull gray-brown hue ; 



288 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Picea alba. 



the scales are very thin at the tip, somewhat square- 
pointed, and often eroded at the edge. The lower 
branches of tall trees which grow in the open droop 
very gracefully. 

The black spruce is found in cold and damp 
woods from Isew England to Pennsylvania, central 
Michigan, and Minnesota; southward it follows the 
Alleghany Mountains to North Carolina. The wood 
is yellowish white, tough, and clear of all but small 
and rather ornamental-looking knots ; it is largely 
used in construction and interior finish. 
White Spruce. The white spruce differs from the 
black in the following particulars : 
The needle is slenderer and is sometimes 
longer, the little twigs are lighter col- 
ored (decidedly buff), and the cone is 
slender, longer, light green when very 
young, and light tan color when older. 
The cones of this spruce are often two 
inches long, and papery -soft under pres- 
sure of the fingers ; they drop off at the 
end of the year. My drawing shows the 
cone in three stages of its development : 
notice that the edges of the scales are 
clean cut, not jagged. The needles are 
usually a trifle curved, and on being 
bruised emit a rather disagreeable, pun- 




White Spruce. 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



289 



gent odor,* which is a sufficient and certain means 
for the identification of the tree. 

The general color of the white spruce is light 
olive-green (that is, in young trees) with a sugges- 
tion of surface bloom. The tree 
is exceedingly ornamen- 



ts 
assumes 




White Spruce Cones. 



tal, and 
a perfect cone 
shape when its 
growth is unim- 
peded. It attains a 
height of from 20 
to 100 feet, and is 
common in the ex- 
treme Northern States 

from Maine to Minnesota. The wood is beautifully 
clear and white, and is extensively used for interior 
finish. The best and clearest quality of white spruce 
I can only compare with satinwood. 
Colorado Blue Spruce. The Colorado spruce, sometimes 
Ficea pungens. called silver spruce, is a Rocky 
Mountain species frequently cultivated in our East- 
ern parks and gardens ; there are several beautiful 
but small specimens in the Arnold Arboretum near 
Boston. There is also a charming larger specimen 



* It is unpleasantly suggestive of the feline tribe. 



290 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



on the lawn of Messrs. Ellwanger and Barry's nurs- 
eries at Rochester, N. Y. This tree may be iden- 
tified at once by its long, sharp needle, which is gen- 
erally sage-green in color, but which imparts to the 
tree a peculiar, light bluish tint. Not all specimens 
are alike in this respect, as some are greener than 
others, and a few have a somewhat rusty tinge. 

The needle is three quarters of an 
inch or an inch in length, curved, ex- 
tremely sharp pointed, and it emits 
a disagreeable, pungent odor when 
bruised.* The little twigs bristle 
all around with needles, and when 
young they are a beautiful tan- 
color. The general effect of some 
of the handsomest Colorado 
spruces is light sage-green of a 
very bluish tone ; the tree is one of 
the lightest colored of the ever 
greens, and has a perfectly conical 
figure which is strikingly ornamental, 
especially when it is crowned by clus- 
ters of long, red, tan-colored cones; 
these are usually four inches or less in 

Colorado Blue i fl 

Spruce. iengtn. 




* The Colorado blue spruce has the same strong odor as the 
white spruce. 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



291 



Norway Spruce. The Norway spruce is another hand- 
Picearexceha. some species, which is generally con- 
fined to parks and private grounds. This tree grows 
from 50 to 120 feet high, according to circumstances ; 
in the forests of Norway its long, drooping 
branches and tall figure form a conspicu- 
ous feature of the landscape. A num- 
ber of varieties assume extraordinary 
if not grotesque shapes ; 
certain weeping form, which 
may be seen in the Ar- 
nold Arboretum, is a 
most peculiar, bare- 
branched, snaky -look- 
ing character, which 

Can not fail to attract Norway Spruce. 

notice. 

The needle of the Norway spruce is slightly 
curved, about seven eighths of an inch long, and 
olive-green. The cone is four and a half or five 
inches long, and is pendant ; its color is light red- 
dish brown, and the rigid scales are square-pointed. 

The bald cypress is a funereal-look- 
Bald or - L 

Southern Cypress, ing tree of the Southern swamps, 
Taxodium distich um. w i 10se picturesque, spirelike contour 
and grim stateliness are qualities not without a cer- 
tain charm. It is found in swampy lands from Mary- 




292 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



land westward to Missouri and throughout the 
South.* The tree is often completely surrounded by 
water, from which it rises 
straight as an arrow. In the 
water and growing up from 
the roots are frequently seen 
strange, lumpy, conical growths 
which are called " knees " ; in a 
cypress swamp these conspic- 
uous formations invariably at- 
tract attention. "I* 
The leaves of the cypress are 
deciduous, flat, light olive -green, 
and from seven sixteenths to three 
Bald cypress. quarters of an inch long ; they are 
sometimes (on the smaller and flow- 
ering branchlets) awl -shaped and overlapping. The 
general color of the tree is a dull, deep green. The 
roundish cones are an inch or so long, with closed, 
thickish, irregular scales. 




* At Chapultepec, Mexico, there is an American cypress which, 
when the Spaniards entered the country in 1520, was called " The 
Cypress of Montezuma," being then of immense size, over forty 
feet in girth and 120 feet in height. 

f At every "knee" a downward, strong root deeply penetrates 
the ground ; these " knee " roots are the anchors by which the bald 
cypress is held firmly in its soft and boggy bed. 

There is a fine specimen of the bald cypress, 40 feet high, and 
with a symmetrical figure, at Dosoris, Long Island. 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 293 

The bald cypress grows from 60 to 125 feet 
high, and furnishes valuable, clear lumber for in- 
terior trimmings. Its grain is exceedingly beauti- 
ful, and in the vicinity of the roots its darker rich 
brown color and striking convolutions are not equaled 
by many of the handsomest hard woods. For panel- 
ing and doors not the best of French walnut seems to 
me quite as effective as cypress. 

Two trees which I must mention in passing, be- 
cause they are representatively American, are the 
great trees of California — Sequoia gigantea, and the 
redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. The former is the 
largest tree known.* 

Some of these great trees measure 300 feet in 
height, and through the tunneled stem of one par- 
ticular specimen a coach and four horses has been 
driven, with room enough and to spare. The needles 

* Dr. Bigelow gives the following description of one, which I 
copy from General James S. Brisbin's Trees and Tree Planting: 
" Eighteen feet from the stump it was fourteen and a half feet in 
diameter. As the diminution of the annual growth from the heart 
or center to the outer circumference or sapwood appeared in regu- 
lar succession, I placed my hand midway, measuring six inches, 
and carefully counting the rings on that space, which were one 
hundred and thirty, making the age of the tree, by this computa- 
tion, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five years. ... It 
required thirty-one paces, three feet each, to measure its circum- 
ference, making ninety-three feet ; and to fell it, it took five men 
twenty-two days, and the mere cutting down cost over five hun- 
dred dollars." 
20 



294 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

are awl-shaped, or flat and sharp pointed, and they 
are scattered around the branchlets ; in color they are 
light olive-green. Occasionally the tree is planted in 
the East, but with little success, as it lives but a few 
years.* The other Sequoia, called redwood, is not so 
large, but the average diameter of the older trees is 
not far from eight feet. The needles are from half 
an inch to a full inch in length, smooth, sharp 
pointed, and deep, shiny olive-green above, but 
covered with a whitish bloom below. The cones 
are roundish and scarcely an inch in diameter. The 
ruddy-colored wood is not unlike that of the red 
cedar, and it is extensively used for interior finish. 
Unfortunately, it is rather soft. The redwood is not 
hardy in the Eastern States. 

Arbor vitse. The arbor vitse is a familiar hedge 
Thuja ocddentaiis. evergreen, which needs no description 
for its identification. But we should know how to 
distinguish it from the common white cedar (Chamoe- 
cyparis sphwroidea). Arbor vitge has a bright-green 
leaf spray with overlapping scales which are closely 
pressed together on the extremely flat branchlets ; 
these have a very aromatic odor when bruised. The 

* There is a remarkably beautiful, conical, but small specimen 
at Dosoris, Long Island, which still thrives. Prof. Meehan says 
that the Sequoia is destroyed by a parasitic fungus which was 
discovered by Mr. J. B. Ellis, of Newfield, N. J. 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



295 



tiny cone, less than half an inch long, has from six 
to ten pointless scales, grows in an inverted position 
on the branchlet, is of a light yellow-brown color, and 
opens to the very base when ripe. The bark of the 
tree is fibrous, dull gray-brown, and on some speci- 




Arbor Vitae. 



mens it grows in a somewhat spiral fashion about the 
trunk. 

Arbor vitse is found in swamps and cool, moist 
woods, from New York southward along the Alle- 
ghany Mountains to North Carolina ; westward it ex- 
tends to Minnesota. It grows from 20 to 50 feet 



296 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

high, and has light, soft, but very durable wood 
especially adapted to withstand extremes of heat 
and moisture when in contact with the ground. 

White Cedar ^ ne wa ^ e ce( lar is similar in some 
Chamcecyparis respects to the foregoing species, but 

sphceroidea. cer t am differences are well marked, 
and they are sufficient to prevent a confusion of the 
two trees. The white cedar grows in a 
symmetrical conelike figure, with a gen- 
eral color effect of warm, light brown- 
ish green ; arbor vitse is usually much 
greener. The leaf spray of this tree 
is less broad and flat than that of 
the foregoing species ; perhaps I 
might also call it less heavy and 
coarse. The tiny cone is scarcely 
one third of an inch in diameter, 
and has about six scales, which do 
not open to the base of the cone 

White Cedar. ■, , . . -, -, .,-1 ., 

but at a wide angle with its axis ; 
the scales are thick and pointed or bossed in the 
middle. 

The white cedar is found from southern Maine 
through the Atlantic States to Florida, also along 
the Gulf to Mississippi, and generally inhabits cold 
swamps. It grows from 30 to 90 feet high ; its 
durable though soft white wood is used in boat- 




THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



297 



building, and for shingles, railroad ties, the founda- 
tions of buildings, and fence posts. It is capable of 
withstanding the disintegrating effect of alternating 
heat and moisture. The bark is very fibrous. 

Common Juniper. Tne common juniper must be con- 
Juniperus communis, sidered more as a shrub than a tree, 
as it rarely grows tall enough to look treelike. In 
habit, however, it is sometimes 
erect; but more frequently it 
has low - spreading branches, 
which grow so close to the 
ground that they are apt to 
be trodden upon. Its sharp- 
pointed needle, green below 
and a trifle whitish above, is 
very prickly, grows in threes 
around the slender stem, and 
does not often exceed half an 
inch in length. The pretty cadet- 
blue berries, about the size of a pea, are black purple 
beneath the bloom ; they have an agreeable, aromatic 
odor when bruised, and are largely used in the 
flavoring of gin. Juniper is common throughout 
the North on dry and sterile ground, and grows 
hardly more than one or two feet high. I have 
found it plentiful on the eastern shores of Lake 
George, but never in the White Mountains. 




Common Juniper. 



298 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

Red Cedar. Red cedar is a dark-hued tree of 

Jumper™ Virginiana. com p ac t habit, popularly consid- 
ered less beautiful than useful. It is certainly pic- 
turesque in some of its rugged and varied forms, 
but as it advances in age a certain raggedness of 
figure unfits it for the ornamentation of a neat and 
prim park, the orderly gardener of which prides him- 
self on his success in excluding what I might call the 
wild and picturesque romanticism of Nature. But 
in Bucks County, Pa., I am told that many hill- 
sides are ornamented with its Gothic figure (indeed, 
its contour is strikingly suggestive of the 
pointed arch), and that the landscape is 
greatly enriched by its somber 
and refreshing dull green. To 
my mind, there are few trees 
whose sober coloring is invested 
with so great a charm. I call 
to remembrance certain speci- 
mens growing in Virginia 
whose green is beautifully 
tinged with rusty red, and 
others elsewhere with a green pervaded by warm 
orange. In Koxbury, Mass., there are also many rusty 
colored trees. Not the least interesting effect of the 
coloring in the red cedar is the cadet blue-gray of 
the berries which plentifully besprinkle the branchlets 




THE SPRUCE, ETC. 299 

• 
of the fertile trees* in the autumn. The leaves are 

very tiny, and scalelike on the older branches, but 
awl-shaped or needlelike, sharp, and spreading on 
the newer ones ; under close scrutiny the foreshort- 
ened little branchlet is square, and the color, where 
it is not rusty, is shiny olive-green. The berries, 
black -purple beneath the bloom, are about as large 
as small peas.f The bark is brown and fibrous, and 
sometimes comes off in long shreds, leaving the bare 
trunk smooth. The wood has an exceedingly spicy 
odor, and a wonderfully fine, straight grain which is 
peculiarly adapted to the needs of a lead pencil ; its 
color is pale brownish-lake red. The red cedar is 
sparingly distributed, excepting in a few localities 
throughout the United States. It commonly grows 
to a height of 20 or 30 feet in the North, but south- 
ward it attains a height of from 50 to 90 feet. It 
is not to be found in the White Mountains. 

A near relative of our red cedar, a tree which also 
possesses picturesque qualities, is the European yew 

* The trees bearing staminate (unfertile) flowers, I am told, 
are the ones which are most generally tinged with a brown-red 
or tawny color. 

f I am told that in Bucks County these berries furnish the 
birds with a plentiful amount of food in midwinter, and that on 
hot July days the oil is distilled in the hot sun so that the whole 
region about the trees is filled with the aromatic perfume. Many 
of the trees are of such dense growth that little or no sunlight 
penetrates to the ground beneath. 



300 FAMILIAR TREES 4ND THEIR LEAVES. 

(Taxus baccata). This tree is planted in our coun- 
try, but with indifferent success ; it rarely amounts 
to anything north of Philadelphia. The evergreen 
leaves are sharp pointed, curved, flat, and they grow 
in ranks of two. In general effect the tree has dark- 
green, somber, but beautiful foliage. A remarkably 
symmetrical conelike variety of this species is called 
the Irish yew {Taxus baccata, var. fastigiata). There 
is a charmingly compact and beautifully formed tree 
of this variety at Dosoris, the home of Mr. Richard 
Starr Dana, on Long Island ; but Mr. William Fal- 
coner says that the Irish yew does not thrive in this 
country — a pity, I think, because there are few trees 
which offer so great an inducement and promise to 
the gardener in search of a conventionally modeled 
tree. 

The only yew native to this country is a mere 
shrub with straggling branches which spread widely 
over the ground ; it is called Taxtcs Canadensis 
{Taxus Minor, Sarg.), and improperly ground hem- 
lock. So superficial a resemblance to the true hem- 
lock should not mislead one ; the distinguishing char- 
acteristic of the ground hemlock a sharp observer 
would not fail to detect. Look at my drawing 
marked A; the needle at the end abruptly finishes 
in a sharp point This is not the case with the needle 
of the true hemlock. I must also draw attention to 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



301 



a charming quality of color in the ground hemlock 
needle which is rarely the possession of any leaf : 




Yew. 



the reverse side is precisely the softest, warmest, and 
most beautiful, rich yellow-green which we can find 
in Nature. I have already alluded to this particular 
green in a description of the mulberry leaf. If 
there are those of us who think the color nothing 
extraordinary, let them attempt the almost impossi- 
ble task of matching it exactly. The beautiful trans- 
lucent red berry of the ground hemlock, with the 
black spot in the center of the depression, is hardly 
less interesting than the warm, green foliage ; its deli- 
cacy is only comparable to that of the pearly berry of 
the mistletoe. 

The ground hemlock is common on shady hills 
and banks throughout the Northern States from 



302 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 

Maine to Minnesota ; its southern limit is ]STew 
Jersey. It is the last bnt not the least woodland 
character which I have thought sufficiently interest- 
ing and beantifnl to include in my group of ever- 
green trees. Its lustrous, dark-green needle is as 
rich in color as that of the young and vigorous fir, 
and on the underneath concave surface is hidden that 
unique green which is its exclusive possession among 
the evergreens. What the ground hemlock lacks in 
stature it more than compensates for in color. 

It will not do always to walk with head uplifted 
and eyes only for the tops of trees ; if we do, some- 
thing of beauty at our feet will be lost. Often the 
daintiest bit of tree life is heedlessly crushed by some 
ruthless foot. I was strongly impressed with this fact 
one time when, scrambling through the shrubbery on 
a hillside in an effort to reach a mountain ash, I trod 
upon some dainty waxen berries of the ground hem- 
lock. The fruit of the mountain ash is heavy and 
coarse when compared with that of the ground hem- 
lock. Place some of each together, and allow them 
to give their own testimony. 

It is a blessed privilege to know the trees, the 
flowers, and the leaves by direct contact and close 
sympathy with them. It is not enough to behold a 
tree with our eyes and never touch it with our hands. 
Some of us are imperfectly aware of the personality 



THE SPRUCE, ETC. 303 

in a tree or flower, and we think Nature reveals her- 
self to a select few. What a foolish error of judg- 
ment ! It is ourselves who accomplish the revelation, 
whatever that may ~be ; it is our own fault if we do 
not succeed. We do not admit Nature to an inti- 
macy which it is the privilege of some cherished 
friend to enjoy, and we charge her with being un- 
fathomably mysterious and enigmatical. 

Thank God, one sweet- spirited man could testify 
to the contrary ! Many of us who are city bred 
would be glad to possess at least some small portion 
of his understanding of her. I believe we may pos- 
sess not only a share but a fullness of this understand- 
ing, if we will only spend less time in the drawing 
room and more in the woods ; then, perhaps, in the 
presence of the everlasting, forest-clad hills, we can 
confidently say, with Whittier : 

Transfused through you, O mountain friends ! 
With mine your solemn spirit blends, 
And life no more hath separate ends. 

I read each misty mountain sign, 
I know the voice of wave and pine, 
And I am yours, and ye are mine. 

Life's burdens fall, its discords cease, 

I lapse into the glad release 

Of Nature's own exceeding peace. 



A SYSTEMATICAL INDEX 

OP THE NAMES OP TREES OF THE EASTERN 

UNITED STATES, 

INCLUDING THE BOTANICAL NAMES ACCORDING TO 

PROP. ASA GRAY AND PROF. C. S. SARGENT. 

The letter on the right of each botanical name is the initial 
of the common name. The botanical name according to Prof. 
C. S. Sargent is referred to that according to Prof. Asa Gray. 



306 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 


Botanical name. 


Family. 


Pages. 


Abele Tree (see Poplar, 
White). 






275 








278 


Acer barbatum (see A. sac- 

charinum). 
Acer barbatum, var. nigrum 

(see A. saccharinum, var. 

nigrum). 
Acer dasycarpum, M 






203 








208 


Acer negundo (see Negundo 
aceroides). 






207 








195 








207 








205 








198 








202 


grum. 
Acer saccharinum, Sarg. (see 
A. dasycarpum). 






194 








254 


JEsculus flava, var. purpu- 

rascens, B. 
JEsculus glabra, B 






255 






253 


JEsculus Hippocastanum, H. 






250 


JEsculus octandra (see JE. 

pava). 
JEsculus octandra, var. hy- 

brida (see JE. flava, var. 

purpurascens). 
JEsculus Pavia, B 






251, 255 


JEsculus rubicunda, H 






251 


Ailanthus glandulosa (see 

A. glandulosus). 
Ailanthus glandulosus, A. . . 






209 


Ailanthus (see Ailantus). 
Ailantus 


Ailanthus glandulosus. 
Alnus glutinosa 


Quassia. 
Oak. 

Oak. 


209 


Alder, European 


100 


Alder, Hoary (see Alder, 

Speckled). 
Alder, Speckled 


97,99 


Alnus glutinosa, A 




100 


Alnus incana, A 






99 


Amelanchier Canadensis, 






61 


S.J. 

Apple, American Crab 

Arbor Vitae 


Pyrus coronaria 

Thuja occidentalis 

Viburnum dentatum. . 


Rose. 

Pine. 
Honey- 
suckle. 


59 

294 


Arrow- wood 


191 


Ash, Black 


247 


Ash, Blue 


Fraxinus quadrangu- 
lata. 




245 


Ash, European 




249 


Ash, Green 






244 


Ash, Red 


Fraxinus Pennsylva- 
nia. 
Fraxinus platycarpa . . 




243 


Ash, Water 




246 



A SYSTEMATICAL INDEX. 



307 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Botanical name. 



Family. 



Pages. 



Ash, Weeping, var. pendula. 

Ash, White 

Asimiha triloba, P. C 

Aspen, American 

Aspen, Large-toothed 



Fraxinus Americana. 



Balm of Gilead , 



Basswood (see Linden, Amer- 
ican). 

Basswood, Small-leaved 

Basswood, White 

Bay, Bull 

Bay, Carolina Red 

Bay, Sweet (see Magnolia, 
Small). 

Beech, American 

Beech, Copper 



Pupulas tremuloides. . . 
Pupulusgrandideutata 



Populus balsamifera, 
var. candicans. 



Tilia pubescens 

Tilia heteruphylla 

Magnolia graudiflora. 
Fersea Carolinensis . . . 



Willow. 
Willow. 



Willow. 



Linden. 

Linden. 

Magnolia. 

Laurel. 



Beech, European 

Betula alba, B 

Betula alba, var. atropur- 

purea, B. 
Betula alba, var. fastigiata, 

B. 
Betxda alba,vav. laciniata,B. 
Betula alba, var. pendxda, B, 
Betula alba, var. pubescens. 

B. 

Betxda glandxdosa, B 

Betxda lenta, B 

Betxda lutea, B 

Betula nigra, B 

Betxda papyri/era, B 

Betxda popxdifolia, B 

Bilsted (see Liquidamber). 
Birch, Black 



Fagus ferruginea 

Fagxis sylvatica, var. 

atropurpurea. 
Fagus sylvatica 



Oak. 
Oak. 



Oak. 



Betula lenta. 



Oak. 



Birch, Canoe (see Birch, 

Paper). 
Birch, Cherry (see Birch 

Black). 

Birch, Cut-leaved 

Birch, Dwarf 

Birch. European White 

Birch, Gray 



Betxda glandxdosa. 

Betxda alba 

Betxda populifolia. 



Oak. 
Oak. 
Oak. 



Birch, Hairy-leaved 
Birch, Paper 



Betula papyrifera. 



Oak. 



Birch, Purple-leaved 

Birch, Pyramidal 

Birch, Red 

Birch, River (see Birch. Red) 
Birch. Sweet (see Birch, 

Black). 
Birch, Weeping 




249 
241 
29 
123 
125 



129 



3, 9, 107 
110 

109 
90 
92 

92 

90,92 
92 
92 

98 
81 
84 
96 
93 



81, 86, 
101 



90,92 
98 
90 
3, 86. 92, 

93, 97, 
124 
92 

84,89, 
93 
92 



92 



308 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Birch, White (see Birch 

Canoe). 
Birch, White (see Birch, 

Gray). 
Birch, Yellow 



Bitternut 

Blackthorn 

Box Elder (see Maple, Ash- 
leaved). 

Broussonetia papyrifera, M. 

Buckeye, Fetid (see Buck- 
eye, Ohio). 

Buckeye, Ohio 

Buckeye, Purple Sweet 



Buckeye, Red 

Buckeye, Sweet 

Buckeye, Yellow (see Buck 
eye, Sweet). 

Buckthorn, Carolina 

Buckthorn, Common 

Burning Bush , 



Burning Bush, European. 

Butternut 

Buttonwood 



Carya alba, H. S 

Carya amara, B 

Carya microcarpa, H 

Carya olivceformis, P 

Carya porcina, P 

Carya sulcata. S 

Carya tomentosa, M 

Castanea dentata (see C 

sativa). 

Castanea pumila, C 

Castanea sativa, C 

Catalpa 

Catalpa bignonoides, C 

Catalpa Catalpa (see Catal 

pa bignonoides). 

Catalpa speciosa, C 

Catalpa. Western 

Cedar, Red 

Cedar, White 



Botanical name. 



Betula lutea. 



Carya aniara 

Crataegus tomentosa 



JEscidus glabra 

JEsculus flava, var 
purpurasceus. 

JEscidus Pavia 

JEsculus flava 



Rhamnus Caroliniana 
Rhamnus cathartica . . 
Evonymus atropurpu 

reus. 
Evonymus Europceus. , 

Juglans cinerea 

Platanus occidentalis 



Family. 



Oak. 



Walnut. 
Rose. 



Soapberry. 
Soapberry. 

Soapberry. 
Soapberry. 



Buckthorn. 

Buckthorn. 

Holly. 

Holly. 

Walnut. 

Plane liee. 



Catalpa bignonoides 



Celtis occidentalis, H 

Cercis Canadensis, R. J 

Chamcecyparis sphceroidea, 

C. 
Cherry, Bird (see Cherry, 

Wild Red). 

Cherry, Choke 

Cherry, Wild Black 

Cherry, Wild Red 

Chestnut 

Chinquapin 



Catalpa speciosa 

Ju n i perns Virginiana . 
Chamcecyparis sphce 
roidea. 



Prunus Virginiana 

Primus serotina 

Prunus Pennsylvanica 

Castanea sativa 

Castanea pumila 



Bignonia. 



Bignonia. 
Pine. 
Pine. 



Rose. 
Rose. 
Rose. 
Oak. 
Oak. 



Pages. 



9,81, 

84,97 

235 

139 



SO 



253 
255 



255 
254 



189 
17,224 

2,172 



229 
235 
234 
236 
232 
231 
232 



107 
104 
185 
185 



187 

187 

298 

294-296 



30 
296 



57 
54 
52 
104 

107 



A SYSTEMATICAL INDEX. 



309 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Chionanthus Virginica, T .. 

Cladrastis lutea (see C. tine- 
toria). 

Cladrastis tinctoria, Y 

Cornel, Red-stemmed 

Cornus alba, C 

Curnus alternifolia, D 

Cornus florida, D 

Comus stolonifera, O 

Cotinus Americana (see 
Rhus cotinoides). 

Cottonwood 

Crataegus aestivalis, H 

Crataegus apiifolia, T 

Crataegus coccinea, T 

Crataegus cordata, T 

Crataegus Crus-galli, T 

Cra tcegus flava, T 

Crataegus mollis, H 

Crataegus oxycantha, H 

Crataegus punctata, II 

Crataegus spathidata. T 

Crataegus tomentosa, B 

Crataegus viridis, H 

Cucumber Tree 

Cucumber Tree, Yellow 

Custard, Apple (see Papaw). 

Cypress, Bald 

Cypress, Southern (see Cy- 
press, Bald). 



Date Plum (see Persimmon). 

Diospyros Kaki. P 

Diospyros Virginiana, P. D. 
Dogwood, Alternate-leaved.. 
Dogwood, Flowering 



Elm, American. 



Elm, Corky White 

Elm, English 

Elm, Red (see Elm, Slippery). 

Elm, Scotch 

Elm, Slippery 

Elm, Wahoo 

Elm, Water (see Planer Tree). 

Elm, White (see Elm, Ameri 
can). 

Elm, Winged (see Elm, Wa- 
hoo). 

Elm,Wych(seeElm, Scotch). 

Euonymus (see Evonyrmis). 

Evonymus atropurpureus, B. 

Evonymus Europceus, B 



Botanical name. 



Cornus alba 



Popxdus monilifera. 



Jfagnolia acuminata. . 
Magnolia cordata 



Taxodium distichum . . 



Cornus alternifolia.. 
Cornus florida 



Ulmus Americana . 



Ulmus racemosa. . 
Ulmus campestris 

Ulmus montana . . 

Ulmus fulva 

Ulmus alata 



Faaus Americana (see F. 
fcrruginea). 

21 



Family. 



Dogwood. 



Willow. 



Magnolia. 
Magnolia. 

Pine. 



Dogwood. 
Dogwood. 



Nettle. 

Nettle. 
Nettle. 

Nettle. 
Nettle. 
Nettle. 



Pages 



184 



212 
184 
184 
181 
180 
183 



127 
141 
13G 
137 
134 
140 
141 
138 
135 
139 
135 
139 



25 
21, 291 



35 



181 
180 



17, 5G, 
81 
74 

74 

71 



1S8 



310 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Fagus ferruginea, B 

Fagus sylvatica, B 

Fagus sylvatica folius atro- 
rubentibus (see F. sylvati- 
ca, var. atropurpurea). 

Fagus sylvatica, var. atro- 
purpurea, B. 

Fir, Balsam 

Fir, Fraser's balsam 

Fir Scotch (see Pine, Scotch). 

Fraxinus Americana, A 

Fraxinus Caroliniana (see 
Fraxinus platycarpa). 

Fraxinus excelsior, A 

Fraxinus excelsior, var. pen- 
dula. 

Fraxinus nigra, A 

Fraxinus quadrangulata, A 

Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, A. 

Fraxinus Pennsylvanica, 
var. lanceolata (see F. 
viridis). 

Fraxinus platycarpa, A 

Fraxinus viridis 

Fringe Tree 



Gleditschia aquatica, L 

Gleditschia triacanthos, L . . 
Gleditschia triacanthos, var. 

Bujotii pendula. 
Gleditschia triacanthos, var. 

inermis. 

Great Tree of California 

Ground Hemlock (see Yew, 

American). 
Gymnocladus Canadensis, K 
Gymnocladus dioicus (see G. 

Canadensis). 



Hackberry , 

Hackmatack (see Larch). 
Hamamelis Virginiana, W . 
Haw, Black 



Haw, Scarlet 

Haw, Southern Summer 

Haw, Summer (see Haw, Yel 
low). 

Haw, Yellow 

Hawthorn, English 

Hawthorn, Tall 

Hemlock 

Hemlock, Mountain 

Hickory 

Hickory, Small-fruit 

Hickory, Swamp (see Bitter- 
nut). 



Botanical name. 



Abies balsamea . 
Abies Fraseri . . . 



Chionanthus Virginica 




Sequoia gigantea. 



Celtis occidentalis . 



Viburnum prunifolium 



Crataegus mollis 

Cratcegus aestivalis . 



Crataegus flava 

Crataegus oxycantha 

Crataegus viridis 

Tsuga Canadensis. . . 
Tsuga Caroliniana. . 

Carya alba 

Carya microcarpa, . . 



Family. 



Pine. 
Pine. 



Pine. 



Nettle. 



Honey- 
suckle. 

Rose. 

Rose. 



Rose. 

Rose. 

Rose. 

Pine. 

Pine. 
Walnut. 
Walnut. 



A SYSTEMATICAL INDEX. 



311 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Hicoria alba (see Carya to- 

mentosa). 
Hicoria glabra (see Carya 

porcina). 
Hicoria glabra, var. odorata 

(see Carya microcarpa). 
Hicoria laciniosa (see Carya 

sulcata). 
Hicoria minima (see Carya 

amara). 
Hicoria ovata (see Carya 

alba). 
Hicoria pecan (see Carya 

olivceformis). 

Holly, American 

Holly, Dahoon 

Holly, English 

Honeysuckle, Tartarian 



Hop Hornbeam. 

Hornbeam 

Horse-chestnut. 



Botanical name. 



Family. 



Horse-chestnut, 
ing. 



Red-flower 



Ilex Cassine (see I. Dahoon). 

Ilex Dahoon, H 

Ilex monticola (no common 
name). 

Ilex opaca, H 

Indian Bean (see Catalpa). 

Indian Cherry (see Buck- 
thorn, Carolina). 

Ironwood (see Hop Horn- 
beam). 



Judas Tree (see Red Bud). 

Juglans cinerea, B 

Juglans nigra, W 

Juglans regia, W 

Juneberry (see Shadbush). 

Juniper 

Juniperus communis, J. . 
Juniperus Virginiana, C. 



Kentucky Coffee-Tree , 



Larix Americana, L. 
Larix Europcea, L. . . 

Larch, American 

Larch, European 

Linden, American 

Linden, European 

Liquidamber 



Bex opaca 

Ilex Dahoon 

Ilex aquifolium 

Lonicera Tartarica... 

Ostrya Virginica 

Carpinus Caroliniana 
JEsculus Hippocasta 

num. 
JEsculus rubicunda . . 



Juniperus communis . 



Gymnocladus 
densis. 



Cana 



Larix Americana 

Larix Europcea 

Tilia Americana 

Tilia Europcea 

Liquidamber styraci- 
flua. 



Holly. 
Holly. 
Holly. 
Honey- 
suckle. 

Oak. 

Oak. 
Soapberry. 

Soapberry. 



Holly. 



Pine. 




Pine. 
Pine. 
Linden. 
Linden. 
Witch- 
Hazel. 



Pages. 



48 

49 
48 

184 



i, 250 
251 



224 



297 
297 
298 



215 



279 
280 
279 
280 
43 
45 
176 



312 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Liquidamber styraciflua, L. 

S. B 

Liriodendron tulipifera, T 

W. 

Locust 

Locust, Clammy 

Locust, Honey 

Locust, Water 

Lonicera Tartar ica, H 



Madeira Nut (see "Walnut. 

English). 

Magnolia acuminata, C 

Magnolia acuminata, var. 

cordata (see M. cordata). 

Magnolia cordata, C 

Magnolia fcetida (see M. 

grandiflora). 

Magnolia Fraseri, U 

Magnolia glauca, M 

Magnolia grandiflora, M 

Magnolia, Great-flowered . . . 

Magnolia, Great-leaved 

Magnolia macrophylla, M. . . 

Magnolia, Small 

Magnolia tripetala (see M. 

umbrella). 

Magnolia umbrella, U 

Maple, Ash-leaved 

Maple, Black Sugar 



Maple, California 

Maple, Cut-leaved Silver 

Maple. Goose-foot (see Maple, 

Striped). 

Maple, Japan 

Maple, Mountain 

Maple, Norway 

Maple, Red 

Maple, Rock (see Maple, 

Sugar). 
Maple, Silver 



Maple, Striped. 
Maple, Sugar . 



Maple, Swamp (see Maple. 

Red). 
Maple, White (see Maple. 

Silver). 

Mockernut 

Morus alba, M 

Morus nigra, M 

Morus rubra, M 

Mountain Ash, American 

Mountain Ash, Elder-leaved. 

Mulberry, Black 

Mulberry, Paper 



Botanical name. 



Robinia Pseudacacia 

Robinia viscosa 

Gleditschia triacanthos 
Gieditschia aquatica 



Magnolia grandiflora. 
Magnolia macrophylla 



Magnolia glauca 



Negundo aceroides 

Acer saccharinum, var. 

nigrum. 
Acer macrophyllum . . . 



Acer palmatum. . 

Acer spicatum 

Acer platanoides 
Acer rubrum 



Acer dasycarpum 

Acer Pennsylvanicum . 
Acer saccharinum 



Carya tomentosa . 



Pyrus Americana 

Pyrus sambucifolia . . . 

Mortis nigra 

Broussonetia papyri- 
fera. 



Family. 



Pulse. 
Pulse. 
Pulse. 
Pulse. 



Magnolia. 
Magnolia. 



Magnolia. 



Soapberry. 
Soapberry. 

Soapberry. 



Soapberry. 
Soapberry. 
Soapberry. 
Soapberry. 



Soapberry. 

Soapberry. 
Soapberry. 



Walnut. 



Rose. 

Rose. 
Nettle. 
Nettle. 



A SYSTEMATICAL INDEX. 



313 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Mulberry Red — 
Mulberry, White. 



Negundo aceroides, B. M. . . 
Nyssa aquatica (see N. uni 

flora). 

Nyssa biflora, T 

Nyssa sylvatica, T. S 

Nyssa sylvatica, var. biflora 

(see N. biflora).' 
Nyssa uniflora, T 



Oak, Barren (see Oak, Black 
Jack). 

Oak, Basket 

Oak, Black 



Oak, Black-Jack 

Oak, Burr 

Oak, Chestnut 

Oak, Cow (see Oak, Basket). 

Oak, English 

Oak, Iron (see Oak, Post). 

Oak, Laurel 

Oak, Live 

Oak, Over-cup (see Oak 

Burr). 

Oak, Pin 

Oak, Post 

Oak, Red 

Oak, Scarlet 

Oak, Shingle (see Oak 

Laurel). 

Oak, Southern Over-cup 

Oak, Spanish 

Oak. Swamp Spanish (see 

Oak. Pin). 

Oak, Swamp White 

Oak, Water 

Oak. White 

Oak, Willow 

Oak, Yellow Chestnut 

Oil Nut (see Butternut). 

Osier, Red 

Ostrya Virginiana (see O 

Virginira). 

Ostrya Virginica, H. I 

Oxydendrum arboreum, S. . . 



Papaw. 



Pecan Nut 

Persea Borbonia (see P. Ca 
rolinensis.) 

Persea Carolinensis, B 

Persimmon 

Persimmon, Japanese 



B itanical name. 



Morus rubra . 
Morus alba . . 



Quercus Michauxii . . . 
Quercus coccinea, vai' 
tinctoria. 

Quercus nigra 

Quercus macrocarpa . 
Quercus Prinus 



Quercus Bobur. 



Quercus iivbricaria. 
Quercus virens 



Quercus palustris. 
Quercus stellata. . 

Quercus rubra 

Quercus coccinea. 



Quercus h/rata . 
Quercus falcata 



Ouercns bicnlor 

Quercus aauatica 

Quercus alba 

Quercus Phellos 

Quercus Muhlenbergii 

Cornus stolonifera . . . 



Asim ina triloba 

Carya olivceformis — 



Diospyros Virginiana . 
Diospyros Kalzi 



Family, 



Nettle. 
Nettle. 



Oak. 
Oak. 

Oak. 
CX.k. 
Oak. 

Oak. 

Oak. 
Oak. 



Oak. 
Oak. 
Oak. 
Oak. 



Oak. 
Oak. 



Oak. 
Oak. 
Oak. 
Oak. 
Oak. 

Dogwood. 



Custnrd 
Anple. 
Walnut. 



Pages. 



31 



152 
163 

168 
147 
153 



169 

157 



165 
146 
159 
161 



149 
169 



150 
167 
144 
170 
156 

183 



101 

08 



F.bony. 
Ebony. 



21, 236 



314 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Plcea alba, S 

Picea excelsa, S 

Picea nigra, S , 

Picea pungens, S 

Picea rubra, S 

Pignut 

Pine, Georgia 

Pine, Gray 

Pine, Jersey Scrub 

Pine, Loblolly 

Pine, Northern Pitch . . . 

Pine, Northern Scrub 
Pine, Gray). 

Pine, Norway (see Pine, Red). 

Pine. Old-field (see Pine, Lob- 
lolly). 

Pine, Red 

Pine, Scotch 

Pine, Southern Yellow 

Pine. Table Mountain 

Pine, White 



(see 



Pine, Yellow 

Pinus Banksiana, P 

Pinus echinata (see Pinus 
mitis). 

Pinus inops, P 

Pinus mitis, P 

Pinus palustris, P 

Pinus pungens, P 

Pinus resinosa, P 

Pinus rigida, P 

Pinus Strobus, P 

Pinus sylvestris, P 

Pinus tceda, P 

Pinus Virginiana (see Pinus 
inops). 

Planera aquatica, P. E 

Plane Tree, Oriental 

Planer Tree 

Platanus occidentalis, B. S. . 

Platanus orientalis, S. P 

Plum, Canada 

Plum, Chickasaw 

Plum. Wild (see Plum, Can- 
ada). 

Poplar (see American As- 
pen). 

Poplar, Balsam 

Poplar, Carolina (see Cotton- 
wood). 

Poplar, Downy 

Poplar, Lombardy 

Poplar, White 

Populus alba, P 

Popidus alba, var. Bolleana 

Populus alba, var. nivea 

Populus balsamifera, P 

Populus balsamifera, var. 
candicans. 



Botanical name. 



Carya porcina. 



Pinus Banksiana . 

Pinus inops 

Pinus tceda 

Pinus Rigida 



Pinus resinosa. . 
Pinus sylvestris. 
Pinus palustris. 
Pinus pungens. . 
Pinus strobiis. . . 



Pinus mitis. 



Family. 



Walnut. 



Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 



Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine.. 

Pine. 



Platanus orieu talis. 
Planera aquatica . . 



Prunus Americana . 
Prunus Chicasa 



Populus balsamifera 



Populus heterophylla. 

Populus dilatata 

Pojndus alba 



Plane Tree. 
Nettle. 



Rose. 
Rose. 



Willow. 



Willow. 
Willow. 
Willow. 



A SYSTEMATICAL INDEX. 



315 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Butanicnl name. 



Family. 



Pages. 



Populus balsamifera, var. 
intermedia. 

Populus balsamifera, var. 
lati folia. 

Populus balsamifera, var. 
viminalis. 

Populus dilatata, P 

Populus grandidentata, A... 

Populus heterophylla. P 

Populus laurifolia (see. P. 
balsamifera, var. vimina- 
lis). 

Populus monilifera, C 

Populus nigra, var. Italica . 

Populus suaveolens (see P. 
balsamifera). 

Populus suaveolens. var. in- 
termedia (see P. balsami- 
fera, var. intermedia). 

Populus suaveolens. var. lati- 
folia (see P. balsamifera, 
var. latifolia). 

Populus tremidoides. A 

Primus Americana., P 

Prunus angustifolia (see P. 
Chicasa). 

Prunus Chicasa, C 

Prunus nigra (see P. Ameri- 
cana). 

Primus Pennsylvanica, C. . . 

Prun us serotina, C 

Prunus Yirginiana. C 

Pyrus Americana. M 

Pyrus coronaria, A 

Pyrus sambucijolia, M 



Quercitron (see Oak. Black) 
Quercus acuminata (see Q. i 

MuMenbergii). 

Quercus alba, O 

Quercus aquatica, O 

Quercus bicolor, O , 

Oue?-cus coccinea. O 

Quercus coccinea, var. fine 

fo/7a, O. 

Quercus falcata. O 

Quercus imbricaria, O 

Quercus lyrata. O 

0«e>"cws macrocarpa, O 

Quercus Marilandica isee Q 

nigra). 

Quercus MicJiauxii, O 

Quercus minor (see 6. sfcZ 

Zafa). 
Quercus Muhlenbergii, O. . . . 

Quercus nigra, O 

yucrcu.s nigra. Sarg. (see Q. 

aquatica). 
Quercus palustris, O 



129 
129 
129 

131 

125 

127 



127 
131 



123 
51 



52 



52 
54 
57 

223 
59 

224 



144 
167 
150 
Ifil 
163 

169 
169 
149 
147 



152 



156 
168 



165 



316 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Quercus Phellos, O 

Quercus platauoides (see Q. 

bicolor). 

Quercus Prinus, O 

Quercus Robur, O 

Quercus rubra, O 

Quercus stellata, O 

Quercus velutina (see Q. cuc- 

cinea, var. tinctoria). 

Quercus virens, O 

Quercus Virginiana (see Q. 

virens). 



Red Bud 

Redwood 

Rkamnus Caroliniana, B... 

Rhamnus cathartica, B 

Rhus cotinoides, S 

Rhus typhina, S 

Rkus venenata, S 

Rhus Vernix (see R. vene- 
nata). 

Robinia Pseudacacia, L 

Robinia viscosa, L 



Salix alba, W 

Salix alba, var. argentea . . . 

Salix alba, var. ccerulea 

Salix alba, var. vitellina 

Salix Babylonica, W 

Salix Babylonica, var. annu- 
laris 

Salix Bebbiana (see S. ros 
trata). 

Salix Caprea, W 

Salix cordata. W. 

Salix fluviatilis (see S. longi- 
folia). 

Salix fragilis, W 

Salix longifolia, W 

Salix lucida, W 

Salix nigra, W 

Salix nigra, var. falcata, W. 

Salix rostrata, W 

Sassafras 

Sassafras officinale, S 

Sassafras sassafras (see S. 
officinale). 

Sequoia gigantea, G 

Sequoia sempervirens. R 

Service Berry (see Shadbush). 

Shadbush \ 



Shasrbark- (see Hickory ). 
Shell bark (see Hickory). 

Shellbark. Big 

Slippery Elm (see Elm, Slip- 
pery). 



Botanical name. 



Cere is Canadensis 

Sequoia sempervirens 



Sassafras officinale. 



Avelanchier Canaden- 
sis. 



Carya sxdeata. 



Family. 



Pulse. 
Pine. 



Laurel. 



Rose. 



Walnut. 



A SYSTEMATICAL INDEX. 



317 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Smoke Tree, American 

Sorrel Tree 

Sour Gum (see Tupelo). 

Spruce, Black 

Spruce, Colorado Blue 

Spruce, Norway 

Spruce, Red 

Spruce, White 

Sugarberry (see Hackberry). 

Sumach, Poison 

Sumach, Stag-horn 

Sweet Gum (see Liquidam- 

ber). 
Sycamore (see Buttonwood). 
Sycamore, European (see 

Plane Tree, Oriental). 



Tacamahac (see Poplar, Bal- 
sam). 

Tamarack (see Larch). 

Taxodium, distichum, C 

Taxus baccata, Y 

Taxus baccata, var. fastigi- 
ata, Y. 

Taxus Canadensis, Y 

Taxus Minor (see Taxus 
Canadensis). 

Thorn, Cockspur 

Thorn, Dotted-f ruited 

Thorn, Parsley-leaved 

Thorn, Scarlet-fruited (see 
Thorn. White). 

Thorn, Washington 

Thorn, White 

Thuja occidental is. A 

Tilia Americana, B. L . . . 

Tilia Europcea, L 

Tilia heterophylla, B 

Tilia pidiescens, B 

Tsuga Canadensis, H 

Tulip Tree 



Tupelo 

Tupelo, Large . 
Tupelo, W T ater. 



Ulmus alata, E 

Ulmus Americana, E 

Ulmvs campestris, E 

Ulmus fulva, E 

Ulmus montana. E 

Ulmus racemosa, E 

Umbrella Tree 

Umbrella Tree, Ear-leaved 



Viburnum dentatum. A. 
Vibui-num Lentago, V . . 



BotaDical name. 



Rhus cotinoides 

Oxydendrum arboreum 

Picea nigra 

Picea pungens 

Picea exceisa 

Picea rubra 

Picea alba 

Rhus venenata 

Rhus typhina 



Crataegus Crus-galli. 
Crataegus punctata. . 
Crataegus apiifolia. . 



Crataegus cordata . 
Crataegus coccinea 



Liriodendron tulipi 
fera. 

Nyssa sylvatica 

Nyssa uni flora 

Nyssa biflora 



Magnolia Umbrella. 
Magnolia Fraseri. . . 



Cashew. 
Heath. 

Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 

Cashew. 
Cashew. 



Rose. 
Rose. 
Rose. 



Rose. 
Rose. 



Magnolia. 

Dogwood. 
Dogwood. 
Dogwood. 



Magnolia. 
Magnolia. 



Pages. 

221 

68 

285, 287 
289 
291 

282 
285, 288 



219 



291 
300 



300 



140 

139 
136 



134 
137 
294 
43 
45 
47 
47 
273' 



, 191 
190 



318 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 



Viburnum prunifolium, H. 
Viburnum, Sweet 



Wahoo (see Burning Bush). 

Walnut, Black 

Walnut, English 

Water Beech (see Horn- 
beam). 
Whitewood (see Tulip Tree). 

Willow, Black 

Willow, Crack 

Willow, Goat 

Willow, Heart-leaved 

Willow, Hoop 



Willow, Kilmarnock. . . 
Willow, Long-beaked.. 
Willow, Long-leaved . . 
Willow, Scythe leaved. 



Willow, Shining 

Willow, Weeping 

Willow, Western Black. 

Willow, White 

Witch-Hazel 



Yellowwood 

Yew, American. 
Yew, European. 
Yew, Irish 



Botanical name. 



Viburnum Lentago. 



Juglans nigra 
Juglans reyia. 



Salix nigra 

Salix fragilis 

Salix Caprea 

Salix cordata 

Salix Babylonica, var. 
annularis. 



Salix rostrata 

Salix longifolia 

Salix nigra, var. fal 

cata. 

Salix lucida 

Salix Babylonica 

Salix amygdaloides . . . 

Salix alba 

Hamamelis Virgini- 

ana. 



Cladrastis tinctoria . . . 

Taxus Canadensis 

Taxus baccata 

Taxus baccata, var, 
fastigiata. 



Family. 



Honey- 
suckle. 



Walnut. 
Walnut. 



Willow. 

Willow. 
Willow. 
Willow. 
Willow. 



Willow. 
Wi.low. 
Willow. 

Willow. 

Willow. 

Willow. 

Willow. 
Witch- 
Hazel. 



Pulse. 
Pine. 
Pine. 
Pine. 



Pages. 



190 
ISO 



226 
22S 



117 
113 
111 
112 

117 

111 
119 

113 

117 

118 
116 
118 
116 
65, 171 



212 
300 
300 



INDEX. 



Albany, N. Y., 185. 

Alleghany Mountains, 28, 49, 50, 08, 

140, 152, 155, 159, 170, 182, 220, 224, 

244, 254, 259, 205, 274, 275, 278, 280, 

288, 295. 
Ammonoosuc River, 283. 
Andover, Mass., 71. 
Androscoggin River, Me., 103. 
Arnold Arboretum, 42, 152, 100, 181, 

200, 275. 284, 289, 291. 

Baltimore, Md., 90, 178. 

Bar tram Botanic Garden, 209. 

Bedford, N. H., 155. 

Big Smoky Mountains, Tenn., 195. 

Blair, N. H., 278. 

Boston, Mass., 25, 20. 

Boston Common, 74. 

Cambridge, Mass., 73. 

Campton, N. H., 05, 83, 159, 101, 215, 

278. 
Cape Cod, Mass.. 147. 
Cape Fear River, N. C, 70. 
Catskill 3Iountains, 50. 221. 
Cayuga Lake, N. Y.. 240. 
Concord, Mass., 71. 

Danvers, Ma<=s., 231. 
Deerfleld. Mass., 71. . 
District of Columbia. 155. 103. 
Dosoris, Long Island, N. Y., 212, 300. 

Ellis River, 283. 
Englewood, N. J.. 39. 



Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pa., 

100. 
Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, 155. 
Flume House, Franconia Mountains, 

N. H.,18. 
Flushing, L. I., 106, 209. 
Frankfort, Ky., 173. 

Gale River, 283. 
Geneseo, N. Y., 152. 
Gloucester, Mass., 23. 
Great Smoky Mountains, 28. 
Greenfield, Mass., 71. 

Hartford, 186. 
Haverhill, Mass., 172. 
Hudson River, 154. 

Jamaica Plain, 26. 

Lake Champlain, 148. 155, 240, 244. 
Lake George, 224, 297. 
Lake Mahopac, N. Y., 40. 
Livermore Falls, N. H., 80. 

Manchester, Mass.. 42. 

Martha's Vineyard, 147. 

Medford, West, Maps.. 228. 

Merrimac River, 72. 172. 

Middleton, Maps., 140. 

Milton, Mass., 42. 

Mobile, Ala.. 21. 

Mount Cannon. Franconia Notch, 

N. H.. 224. 
Mount Mitchell, N. C, 39. 



319 



320 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



New Haven, Conn., 71. 
New Orleans, 21. 
New York, N. Y., 154, 185. 
North Conway, 259. 

Palenville, N. Y., 79. 

Pemigewasset River Valley, N. H., 
78, 112, 125, 133, 155, 283. 

Penobscot River Valley, 148. 

Phoenix Nursery, Bloomington, 111., 
212. 

Plymouth, N. H., 73, 90, 173, 206. 

Potomac River, Va., 166. 

Presidential Range, White Moun- 
tains, 284. 

Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 166. 

Public Garden, Boston, 110, 184, 189, 
216. 

Quincy, Mass., 48. 

Red River Valley, La., 150. 
Ridgewood. N. J., 213. 
Rochester, N. Y., 290. 



Rocky Mountains, 289. 
Roxbury, Mass., 31, 207, 298. 

Sabine River, Tex., 247. 

Saco River, 283. 

Sandwich, N. H., 283. 

Saugus, Centre Village, Mass., 228. 

Saugus, East, Mass., 39. 

Schuylkill River, 241. 

South Seekonk, Mass., 146. 

Staten Island, N. Y., £68. 

St. Louis, Mo., 178. 

Tottenville, Staten Island, N. Y., 170. 

Ware River, Mass., 148. 
Washington Square, New York, 175, 

211. 
Waverly, Mass., 1E2. 
White Mountains, 42, 43, 63, 65, 71, 

94, 99, 186, 189, 195, 200, 206, 224, 

247, 257, 271, 274, 283, 286. 
Wilmington, Del., 153. 
Winooski River, Vt, 240. 
World's Fair, Chicago, 111., 130. 



THE END. 



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AM I LIAR FLOWERS OF FIELD AND 

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